The Learning Experiences of Reioki
by ReiokiRikudo
Summary: This is my first story. It's about my OC and her learning about the world. She has a past and people in it that will hurt her future. Something she needs to learn to deal with along with learning how the real world works.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

As a dark green figure flashes across the land of fires border, this young woman of 17 years finds herself excited and a bit fearful of what she is going to do now that she has left her homeland. Speeding threw the tree branches she tries to think of what she is going to do.

_I need to get as much distance between this place and me as I can get no matter what. I also need to figure out where I can go where it will be safe as well. A small village maybe. Hmm… This is going to be harder than I thought. I should of thought this out better before I left. Maybe I should stop and figure out this map I have. ...Na, not right now. I need distance. Further away I am, the better. Besides, I am in the woods. Not likely the trees are going to mark where I am on this map. Just keep moving. Just keep moving._ she thought.

After a few hours of traveling threw the forest, she found a small clearing and decided to stop.

_Ok Reioki. This should be far enough away to rest a bit and figure out what I am going to do. Besides, I am a bit hungry_. She thought. She landed in the small clearing where a few green ferns were growing and a beam of sunlight had shown threw the trees. She took off her dark green cloak, and brushed back her long silver bangs away from her face. They clashed with the long black hair she has. She takes out an apple form her backpack she was carrying and sat in the sunlight. As she ate, she took out the map and looked at it.

_Hmm…. I wonder where I am. Or where I am headed. This map is not going to do me any good right now. I have never been anywhere out of the village before without my mother. And that was so long ago. What am I doing? I left the only place I have ever known, my father and... Oh yeah... and never being able to do anything, go anywhere all because of the fighting. ...Oooohh, what am I doing?_ She thought.

As she sat in the sunlight, she crunched her knees into her chest and looked up to the trees with her black eyes with gold specks through them.

"Mother, what am I to do. I do not want to go back, but I am not sure what to do. Not as sure as when I left anyways. Help me mom, please? I wish you could tell me what to do." she said in a soft voice to her self. Reioki looked down into her knees with a few tears in her eyes and then shook her head and said

"No! No tears. I made the decision to leave; now I need to face the consequence. I must move on. I can do this. I know it." She said to herself. She got up, folded and put the map back in her backpack, put it back on her back, put on her cloak and started off again, going in the direction that her gut told her to go.

As the darkness approached, Reioki looked for a place she could make camp.

_Well, there does not seem to be a village nearby, so it looks like I am going to have to make due with sleeping somewhere around here. Oh great. I have never done this before. Hmm... Well, let me see..._ she thought as she landed on the hard ground while she looked for a place to make camp.

_Trees, trees and more trees. What to do? I could look for something to make some kind of shelter, but what? The ground is pretty bare. A log, a few large stones and not much else around it. Bushes, but what is in them? Berries. Nice, They are edible too. I like that. Well, I guess, I will have to make due with putting this tarp over the log and pin it to the ground and sleep under that._ She thought. She took off her cloak and backpack, pulled out the tarp and put it over the log and pinned it to the ground with some large stones so it looked like a half tent. She also pulled out a box with veggies and rice and ate that for dinner.

_I am going to have to find a village sometime tomorrow, or I will run out of food. I only have enough to make it threw till tomorrow. I really was not thinking that I would be wandering this long without running into some kind of village. As soon as daybreak gets here, I will get moving again._ She thought again. Reioki crawled under the tarp wrapped up in her cloak and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>In the morning when Reioki woke up, she was pretty hungry. She looked at the bush with the berries and decided that would be breakfast. She took the stones off the tarp, folded it up and put it back in her backpack. She went over to the bush and ate berries until she was content. She got up to put on her cloak and heard,<p>

"There she is, get her!" Two shinobi came after her. She recognized them as shinobi of her own village, but they were not on the same side as her family. There was a civil war going on in her land and they were from the opposing side. Reioki started to run, but felt a sharp stabbing pain in her back and leg.

"Aaaaahhhh, get away from me!" She screamed. Reioki stumbled but was able to keep running. One of the shinobi jumped on her and knocked her to the ground.

"Got her." The rain village shinobi said. He had on a mask that covered his mouth that looked like a respirator, a white cloth mask that covered his eyes, and had dark brown spiky hair. Reioki started screaming,

"GET OFF ME! LEAVE ME ALONE! I HAVE DONE NOTHING TO YOU! PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Sorry! No can do! We are going to take you back with us!" Said the shinobi holding her down.

"Hurry up! Lets go! The sooner we get back, the less of a chance of us being caught here!" Said the other rain village shinobi. He had the same mask on his face, and short brown hair.

"Why are you after me? I have done nothing to you." Reioki sobbed. The shinobi with the spiky hair looked at her.

"Because Lord Hanzo gave us a description of a girl, slender with black hair, silver bangs and black colored eyes with gold specks through them. He said that if we find someone that matches that description, to capture and bring her to him for she might help us get the advantage to this war! And you match it perfectly!" he answered as he picked her up from the ground. Reioki tried to break away, but she started to feel woozy.

"See! Told ya it was a good thing to drug the needles. Now she will pass out without a struggle." Said the shinobi with the short brown hair.

"Yeah, I have to give you credit for thinking this time!" the other one said. Reioki pleaded,

"Please, just let me go." Then from the trees above they heard a loud voice.

"Hey! That's no way to treat a lady!" Then, two leaf shinobi came down out of the trees. One with black hair shaped like a bowl haircut and the other with silver spiky hair and mask on his face.

"You heard what she said, so let her go." said the shinobi with the silver spiky hair.

"This is our prisoner. She needs to come back with us." said the shinobi holding Reioki.

"I am not a prisoner, I am a captive. I have done nothing wrong. Please help me!" Reioki pleaded.

"It sounded like you were trying to take advantage of this little lady. It was her screaming that got our attention in the first place. Do you have the papers declaring her arrest? If not, let her go." said the shinobi with the bowl haircut. The shinobi holding Reioki just smirked.

"Ok, fine. Lets see what you got!" He let go of Reioki and came after the shinobi with the bowl haircut. A few hard kicks and punches later, the shinobi that was holding Reioki went down and out cold. The rain village shinobi with the short brown hair went running.

"Thank you for helping Me." said Reioki. The shinobi with the black, bowl shaped hair held out his hand to her.

"Your welcome little lady. So, what is your name, if you don't mind me asking?" he asked. Reioki took his hand as he helped her stand.

"Oh, umm... Rikudo, Reioki. What's yours?" asked Reioki brushing off her blue outfit she was wearing.

"My name is Might, Guy and this is Hatake, Kakashi. Nice to meet you." He said.

"Ahhh, Nice to meet you too. Uh, well... Thanks again for helping me. I guess I will be going now." said Reioki. Guy cocked his head.

"Where are you headed?" he asked. Reioki looked at him with a puzzled look.

"Ummm... well... I thought I would... go visit the sea. I guess." answered Reioki with a small smile.

"You guess? Well little lady, your headed in the wrong direction. Its that way" Guy said pointing to the right.

"Oh, umm... thank you... I would... of... figured..." said Reioki as she passed out and fell to the ground.

"I think she needs medical attention Guy." said Kakashi looking down at her.

"I think your right. Lets go!" Said Guy as he picked up Reioki.

* * *

><p>Blurred eyes opened, and Reioki looks around.<p>

_Wh...where am I?_ She wonders. She sat up in the bed she was in and realized she was in a hospital. A little panicked, she pulled the cover off of her and sat on the bed with her legs hanging off the side.

_How did I end up here? What happened?_ As she thought to her self. As she sat on the side of the bed, she remembered what happened in the forest.

"Oh yeah... I remember now." She said quietly to herself. She looked at her self and examined herself with her doujutsu to see if she was all right. She was happy that her doujutsu could help her to see the inner workings of her body. Like and x-ray but also put color to chakra and the network that ran through bodies. She was a great healer too.

Seeing that she was healthy, she got off the bed and walked over to the closet and pulled out her cloths and cloak and got dressed. She grabbed her backpack and started walking towards the door when a nurse walked in the room.

"Oh! You shouldn't be up walking around! Or dressed! You should be in bed!" The nurse exclaimed as she walked over to Reioki.

"I am fine... Really... I am OK." Reioki said. The nurse looked worried.

"Oooh. I don't know. I think you should wait until the medic comes back. Then he can decide if you're fine or not." said the nurse with concern.

"Fine." Reioki said as she set her backpack on the floor and sat on the bed.

"But I am not getting undressed. I will just wait here until he or she gets here." Reioki looked at the nurse with a little smile.

"Ok. I'll go get him now." said the nurse as she walked out the door. Reioki sat on the bed waiting swinging her feet back and forth as she waited for the medic to show. Then there was a knock on the door and a man asked if her could come in.

"You may." She answered. In walked Guy and Kakashi. They walked in the room but stopped soon after they entered the room.

"Hi there! Looks like you recovered fast." said Guy with a big smile on his face.

"Yeah, I have that ability. Just waiting for the medic to come here and release Me." said Reioki with a smile.

"So, can we ask you a few questions?" asked Kakashi.

"Yeah, sure. What do you want to know?" she asked looking at them with concern on her face.

"Well, being out in the in the woods by yourself isn't the safest thing, so was there someone else traveling with you?" asked Kakashi.

"Well, I guess I was not being the smartest person, but I was traveling by myself." Reioki answered.

"Well, where ever you are headed, we could make sure you get there safely. It would make us feel better knowing your safe." Guy replied. Reioki looked at the two guys and then looked down at the ground.

"Well... to be honest, I do not know where I am going. I left my village for personal reasons and did not really think it through before I left." answered Reioki looking down to the floor a bit embarrassed.

"I see. May I ask WHY you left your village?" Kakashi asked with question on his face.

"I hope you will forgive me for being rude, but I really do not feel like answering that right at this time. It is personal." answered Reioki as she looked up at him.

"I see. Well, I can say, I know you are from the Hidden Rain Village. I noticed the headband your attackers were wearing. But I'm guessing that you didn't know the men that were trying to take you back to your village?" asked Kakashi.

"No. I did not. But they did say that they were looking for someone that matched my description." answered Reioki looking back to Kakashi.

"I see. Do you happen to know why they would be looking for someone with your description?" He asked with concern. Reioki glared at him for a few seconds and then looked down to the floor. She gave a sigh and then looked back to them.

"Again, I do not mean to be rude, but I can not say why. I am sorry if I seem vague with some of the answers. I just ...do not know you, but I thank you for the help you gave me and bringing me here." she answered. Kakashi gave a nod with his head but not happy with the answers he got. Guy just smiled.

"That was not a problem and we were happy to do it. It was an honor. Answered Guy. Just then the medic came in.

"Ok, lets see how you are. Gentlemen, could you please wait outside?" said the medic as he started to look over Reioki. Guy and Kakashi walked out the door.

"You were in good hands when they brought you in. They are some of the best Jonin in the village." said the medic as he looked her over.

"Umm... can I ask... ahhh.. what village am I at?" she asked a bit embarrassed. The medic looked at her chart and then looked at her to answer,

"You're in Konoha, and you have seemed to recover nicely. You are free to go." Reioki hopped off the bed and picked up her backpack.

"Thank you." she said.

"Your welcome." the medic replied. Reioki put her backpack on and walked out the door of her hospital room to find Guy and Kakashi waiting for her.

"What are you going to do now? Are you planning to stay here in the village?" asked Guy.

"I have no idea what I am going to do. Like I said, I was not thinking when I left my village. So, I guess I should look for a place to stay if I am welcome to stay here in the village." answered Reioki as she looked up at them.

"Sure, Your welcome to stay here in the village. I'm sure there is a place you can stay down the road too." Guy answered as they walked towards the hospital doors.

"Ummm... thanks. But why are you helping me?" she asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Because we can." said Kakashi.

"Aaahhh, yeah... right. Listen." Reioki said as she stopped at the doorway out of the hospital.

"I am not sure of where I am or what I am going to do next, but I do not know you two and I am not sure why you are being so nice to me. I am not sure about anything right now. What do you want from me?" Reioki asked looking at them nervously. They both looked at her with care.

"We are just trying to help. That's all. There is nothing more than that. If you don't want our assistance, than just say so. We will leave you alone. Otherwise we are here to help you find what you need. This is a big village and it is easy to get lost if you don't know where you are going. So, it's up to you. Would you like our help or not?" Kakashi replied. Reioki looked down to the ground. She walked out the door and then stopped and looked around. She sighed and took a few more steps, turned around and said,

"Ummm... listen. I am sorry. You are right. I do not know where I am going or where to go. And I could use your help. I am just not use to strangers helping me without something in return. At least where I am from anyway. So, umm... Thank you." She said as she looked at them. Kakashi pointed as he spoke.

"It's this way. And you're welcome." They walked in silence till they got to the place where there was a small room to rent. They talked to the owner and walked her to her room.

"This is where you can stay. It's not far from the center of town. There are places to eat over in that direction and public bath house in that direction." said Kakashi pointing out the window that went out to the small balcony. Reioki looked to where he was pointing with his directions, then she looked at both of them.

"Thank you for your help, and I am sorry for being rude to you earlier about your helping me. I feel bad. I hope you can forgive Me." she pleaded. Guy smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, you seemed a bit nervous, so we thought we would help you. That is just how we are. Anyway, we are going to go. Enjoy your stay here in Konoha. Hope to see you around." Guy said with a wave of his hand as they walked out her door.

"Thank you." Reioki said as they left. She turned around to look at the room she was staying in. It was in the shape of L There was a bed on the wall next to the window that went out to the balcony. The window was more like a door that slid open to the balcony. On the other side of the window, going to the right, there was a desk and next to that was a small dresser to put clothing in. On the next wall were two doors. The first door was a closet and the other door was an entrance to a washroom with no shower or tub. In between the doors were shelves that went all the way to the ceiling. On the next wall was the entrance to the room. Then that wall continued into the L part. In that small part of the room there was a small kitchenette. There was a small fridge, a stove and sink with a small counter in between the fridge and sink also between the sink and stove. There was a blank wall that went out of the L shaped room that lead back into the master room. On that blank wall was a small two-seat table. Over all, her room was small and cozy. She walked over to the sliding door and opened it. She walked out onto the balcony and looked around. It was a nice view of the village. She thought,

_I could get planters and get a garden out here. That would be great. That would be a nice start to some place new_. Reioki walked back into her room and unpacked her stuff. Not that there was much to unpack. Thoughts were compounding her by this time.

_What am I going to do now? I need to find a job, but what? What can I do? How am I going to survive here? She was thinking and started to get frightened. _

_Calm down. There has got to be something I can do. I can learn anything. _She thought, and made her feel better.

* * *

><p>The next day, Reioki got up and washed her face and got ready to get something to eat, and to see what she could find for a job. She walked towards the center of the village where Kakashi told her where there were places to get food. She found a place to eat, like he said. She ate and went walking to see the village. She saw a cute teashop and decided to go in and get a cup.<p>

Reioki walked up to the counter to where a man was standing.

"I would like a cup of Jasmine green tea please." she asked the man behind the counter. He was a short elderly man with black hair and green eyes. He took her order and told her to find a place to sit, and he would bring it out to her. She went to sit down at a table that was closest to the door. The man came over to the table and served her the tea and walked back behind the counter. Reioki took a sip and thought

"This is not very good. I could make this tea better." She went to the counter and asked the man who made the tea.

"That would be me." he answered.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. Reioki looked a bit uncomfortable.

"Well, ...it is weak. Did you seep the herbs for a while?" Reioki asked with concern.

"Well, yeah. I thought I did. I'm sorry. I can make it again if you like." said the man behind the counter. Reioki smiled.

"What other herbs did you use with the Jasmine?" asked Reioki.

"Well, I just used green tea leaves and jasmine leaves. Why? Is there another way to make it?" asked the man. Reioki gave a nod.

"Yeah, I can show you if you like. My name is Rikudo, Reioki. Pleased to meet you." she said with a smile.

"Yamada, Kashu. I am the owner of this teashop. Please to meet you." Said Kashu with a smile. Kashu invited her to walk back to the back room and showed her where the herbs were. With in 5 minutes, Reioki made the tea and he tasted it.

"This is great. You make tea like my grandmother use to make." said Kashu with excitement.

"Thanks. I am really good at making tea. And I could use a job if you need the help." said Reioki.

"I could. When can you start?" asked Kashu. Reioki smiled with excitement.

"How about tomorrow?" asked Reioki.

"Great. Be here at 7am." said Kashu happily.

"Thanks. I will be here." she said as she took her cup of tea and sat down at her table. She was feeling very good and had a smile on her face.

Reioki drank her tea and left. She decided to wander the village to see what else was around.

Reioki looked at all the stores that she passed by. She also noticed all the people walking around.

_What a peaceful place this is._ She thought to herself as she walked around. She couldn't help but feel so happy and safe being here. As she walked around, she noticed a section of the village that didn't look inhabited. She walked towards this part of the village with curiosity. A woman walking by noticed her looking at the area.

"Your not from around here are you?" she asked Reioki.

"No mam. I am not. What is this place?" She asked the woman. The woman looked at her with sadness in her eyes.

"This is the Uchiha part of the village. They were all killed by one of their own four years ago. It was a real tragedy. Only one Uchiha survived the massacre. They say it was his older brother that did the killing. It was a really sad thing. No one knows why he would do such a thing. He was only 13." said the woman. Reioki looked horrified at the woman. She couldn't believe what she just heard.

"I'm sorry! Maybe I shouldn't have told you that!" said the woman as she looked at how horrified Reioki looked.

"No, no, no... I am fine... Just shocked that something so horrible could happen in such a peaceful place such as this." answered Reioki looking shocked at the woman.

"Like I said...It was a tragedy. We all couldn't believe it ourselves." said the woman.

"I see... Well, I am going to go. Thank you for the information. You were so kind to tell me that." said Reioki as she walked away a bit disoriented. Thought fragments were running threw her head. "Uchiha... Only one survived... Massacre... The older brother was the one that did the killing..." all these thoughts were running through and haunting her mind as she was walking back to her room. She felt sick to her stomach. As she got to her room, she fell on her bed and looked up to the ceiling. She wrapped her arms around her stomach not feeling very well.

_Was what she told me the truth? Maybe there are other Uchiha in other villages? She could not have been talking about Itachi. He is the only Uchiha I know. Maybe he was the brother that survived. That must be it. There is no way Itachi would do such a thing... Oh my... That cannot be right. Four years ago... 13 years old... That would make him... Oh my... Itachi's age. This cannot be true! No... It has to be another Uchiha. It could not be him. Could it? _ Reioki thought as she lied on her bed. She had a bad feeling about this. She didn't want to believe what she heard.

How do I find out what happened with out letting people know why I am asking. I am sure no one wants to talk about such a thing, but then again... that lady did...She talked about it. But if it is true, I cannot let people know that Itachi was my boyfriend. Everyone would hate me. They would not understand. That is not Itachi. That is not the man I knew and love. THAT IS NOT HIM! How the hell did I end up here! This is not right! This is a really bad dream! Reioki thought and started to cry. Reioki rolled over and cried into her pillow. She started to remember a few years ago when this 15 year old, dark haired shinobi walked into her life.

_"Reioki looked at her father and wondered if she was really going to be able to go out into the village today. She looked at her dad with big black and gold speckled eyes, _

_ "Dad, am I really going to be able to go out today? Will I really be able to go to the book shop and get a book by myself?" a 15 year old Reioki asked her father. _

_ "Reioki. I have someone that will be with you, so you won't be by yourself. He will be a guard so you can go out and do stuff, but you won't be able to do this everyday. I want you to understand this." said her father. "_

_ Ok! That will be fine! Thank you daddy!" she answered excitedly as she hugged her father. They walked towards a room where a young man stood waiting. He was a bit taller than her with long black hair tied back in a ponytail. He was wearing a dark shirt with chain mail in the front along the collar and the normal ninja pants and looked the same age as her. _

_ "Reioki, this is Itachi. Itachi, this is my daughter, Reioki. She is not to leave your sight. AND.. Reioki... You are to listen to him. What he says, goes. He tells you, we are leaving, then you leave with him and come home. He knows what is best in dangerous situations. You are not to argue or you will not be going out again. UNDERSTAND?" said her father sternly. "_

_ Yes father." Reioki answered respectfully. Reioki walked to the door and Itachi followed. He had a very unhappy look on his face like he didn't want to be doing this. Reioki stopped at the door and turned around towards her father. _

_ "Thanks dad." she said with a smile. _

_ "Your welcome." he answered back. Then out the door they went. _

_ Reioki remembered also being at the bookstore and Itachi looking very unhappy standing by the door of the store. She bought the book Fungus and Molds while she was there and then went to the catacombs at the lake where her mother use to take her when she was alive. Reioki sat down under the tree her mother planted that they use to sit under every time they came to the lake as well. She felt a little sad being here with out her mother being there with her. She looked over at Itachi and asked if he wanted to sit by her. He just looked at her with a glare. _

_ "I guess that means no. Sorry to offend you." she told him. He didn't answer. She sat there and read her book for a half hour and then decided to go home. Not that she wanted to, but she felt like that her guard would rather be doing something else than baby-sit her. She got up and walked back home. She didn't see him again until the next week." _

Reioki stopped crying and started to smile a little remembering how he didn't like her very much the first time they met. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Reioki had hoped that what she had heard earlier that day was wrong. She awoke from her nap about an hour later of thinking of Itachi. From what she heard, that was not the man she knew. And felt bound and determined to find out the truth. She wasn't sure how. She did not want to go around to people asking, "Do you know about the Uchiha clan?". Not a very good approach. No. She would have to be careful about how to go about this. But then, a different feeling came over her.

_I need to stop thinking about this. I am starting new here. I cannot be obsessing over the past. Besides, he left me behind. He does not want to be with me. Why should I be thinking about someone that is not in my life anymore? I had happy times with him. Maybe, that is how it should remain. Maybe, I should not want to know._ She thought to herself. Reioki got up off her bed deciding that she didn't want to know.

_I start a new day tomorrow at a new job, and in a new place. That is what I need to do. Focus on the future. Not the past. Hmmm... I should go get something to eat and then see if this place has a library. I could research something. Yeah. That is what I should do. Get my mind on my new life._ Reioki thought to herself.

Reioki went out and got something to eat. She asked a woman in the shop if there was a library and got directions to it. She walked threw town and made her way to the library. It was a nice building and pretty large too. She went in and looked all around at all the books.

_This is great. Look at all the books! What should I start with?_ Reioki thought as she walked around. She found the reference center and started thumbing through the categories. A lady with short blond hair and violet eyes walked up to her and stopped next to her.

"Can I help you find anything?" asked the lady.

"I am not sure. I am just looking to see if anything strikes my interest." Replied Reioki.

"I see. Well, are you interested in love stories? Or fantasy?" asked the lady. Reioki looked at her with a funny look.

"Ahhh... No, I do not think so. I like things that explain things. I like researching things. Theory books. Non-fiction stuff. I have never read a love story. BUT... I am not saying that I would not give it a try someday. Just not now." Explained Reioki.

"Oh. Ok. So... What kind of things do you have an interest in?" asked the lady.

"Well, lots of things. But, I am new here and right now, I am trying to occupy my time with something, but I am not sure what. Maybe I could learn about this village? Do you have maps or a history of this place?" asked Reioki.

"Well, we do have this map over here you could look at, but you can't take it with you." said the lady pointing over to the wall by a desk.

"Well, that is a start. Thank you for your help." said Reioki.

"Your welcome. Glad to help." said the lady. Then she walked away to another desk by the door to the library. Reioki walked over to where the map was on the wall. She looked at it and saw where the library was on the map, she also saw where the center of town is, where the academy is, where the administration building is, the hospital, and the Uchiha village. She stared at the map for a while to memorize it. When she thought she had it down, she decided to put it to the test.

I am going to walk the village and see where everything is on the map. That is a good way to get to know the village. She thought. She walked to the door of the library and saw the lady that helped her sitting at the desk.

"Thank you again for your help. It was helpful." Reioki said to her with a smile.

"Your welcome. Oh, by the way. I thought of something else. If you want more information on the village, you might want to go by the academy. There is a teacher there named Iruka. He might be able to help you too. I also found this book on Konoha. It's just a reference book, so it should help. The only thing is that you have to fill out a registration card and you have to have been living here in Konoha for at least a month with some proof of that. Do you have that information?" asked the lady behind the desk.

"Ahhh, no. I just got here a few days ago. Sorry." said Reioki.

"That's ok. Just come back in a month and fill out the registration card with the proof of residency and you will be able to check out books anytime. As for now, you can just come back here and read it at any one of the tables here. Anyway, I can tell you the best places to shop and eat. Also, some sights to see as well. I know of some history about this place, but it might be more accurate from Iruka." She said with a smile.

"Thanks! Have a great day!" Reioki answered.

"Thanks! You too." answered the lady. Reioki walked out the door and decided to walk towards the Academy. While walking to the academy, she noticed a large stone wall that had four faces carved in it. It was very large. You couldn't miss it. It was an amazing sight.

_I wonder who they are or were. I wonder why they are carved up there. They must have been important people._ Reioki thought. She continued walking towards the academy, glancing up at the faces carved in the stone. She was so mesmerized by them that she didn't even notice the man in front of her, and walked right into him.

"OOOHH! I am so sorry! I did not mean to..." she said to the man. She looked at him and saw it was Kakashi reading a book.

"Ahhh, your name is Reioki, right?" Kakashi asked.

"Umm, yeah. Right... I am sorry. I did not mean to walk into you. I was just looking at the faces in the stone there as I was on my way to the academy." She said.

"Oh, so your on your way to the academy? What for?" He asked.

"The lady at the library said that some one there, some teacher, might be able to tell me some history about this village." She answered.

"I see. Well, It just happens to be that I am one of those teachers and I happen to be on my way there as we speak. I could walk with you there if you like." he said.

"Uhh, sure. That would be fine. So, what kind of history do you know about this village?" Reioki asked him.

"Well, first of all, those stone faces carved there are the legendary Hokages of this village. That one there is the First Hokage who founded this village. That one there is the Second Hokage. The First and the Second were brothers. That one there is the Third Hokage, and is the Hokage still running this village, and that one there is the Fourth Hokage." Kakashi explained.

"Well, if the Third is currently running this village, why is there a Fourth Hokage?" She asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Ahh, yes. Well, the Fourth died while protecting this village about 12 years ago." he answered.

"Oh! I am sorry to hear that. What happened?" Reioki asked. Kakashi gave a scratch to his head.

"Well, a demon fox attacked the village, The Forth Hokage risked his life and saved the village form destruction." He answered.

"WOW! That is something! I hope that never happens again." She replied with a shocked look on her face.

"Yeah, well I hope it never happens again too." he said with a small laugh.

"This place is so peaceful. I cannot believe something so horrible happened here. It kinda gives me hope about my village. I really hope that someday... Someday there will be peace there. For the Rain village to be as peaceful as this village is." She said. Kakashi looked at her and smiled through his mask he was wearing.

"So, your village is in turmoil, so to say? May I ask, is that the reason you left your village?" He asked her. Reioki looked a bit fearful for she felt she said too much, but then decided to answer. She gave a little sigh.

"Mostly. But there are other reasons as well. I just do not feel like talking about them right now." she answered. He gave a little nod with his head.

"Well, I won't push you to talk about them. War is hard on all. I've been through the 3rd ninja war and I don't care to see a fourth. It affects everyone." he replied. Reioki looked at him and smiled.

"Thank you for understanding. I really appreciate that. Not to get off the subject, but you said you are a teacher, so what do you teach?" Asked Reioki.

"Who me? Well, I teach ninja skills to our young. In fact, I am going to meet them right now for the first time." he answered.

"Ninja skills? Like how?" asked Reioki. Kakashi looked at her again and smiled through his mask.

"Well, to simply put it, I will take my students out on missions with me and learn about them and teach them teamwork and what they need to know about being a ninja." Kakashi told her.

"Oh. Do you only teach your students, or can you take on someone else as well?" she asked. Kakashi and Reioki stopped walking and looked at each other.

"Are you trying to ask if I can train you?" He asked. Reioki became a little uncomfortable then sighed.

"Well,... yeah. If it is not too much for you. I mean... Only if you are allowed to... or if you want to." She answered looking down to the ground awkwardly.

"I have a job starting tomorrow at the Yamada teashop. I could pay you if you want. If money is the issue. Or if you just do not want to, I will understand." she said as she looked back up at him. Kakashi started to walk again, Reioki followed.

"What is it that you are trying to accomplish? What do you want to learn?" He asked.

"Well... I would like to learn something to defend myself. When I was confronted with those shinobi from my village, I could not do anything. It scared me. So, I would like to learn something to defend myself...with out killing someone. I do not want to kill anyone." Reioki answered as she looked over at Kakashi.

"I see. Well, that's part of being a shinobi." he said. Reioki looked a bit shocked then looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Well... I am not a shinobi. I just want to learn to defend myself. I do not want to be a shinobi. That is not who I am." Reioki answered. Kakashi looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Then, just who are you, Reioki?" he questioned her. Reioki looked to the sky and thought about this question for a few seconds. Then looked at him while they walked.

"I am a person who heals and does not take lives of others. I am a person who does not want to be defenseless either." She answered. Kakashi gave a nod.

"Well then. I suppose I could help you. Right now I am on my way to meet my students for the first time. They are my first priority. Then, after that, I could find time to train you. Lets see... How about we meet up two days from now at your work around 3pm. We will figure out then what we are going to do." he said.

"Sounds good to me! Thank you!" she said excitedly. They continued walking to the academy. As they walked up to the front door, Kakashi turned towards her.

"Well, here we are. I will see you in two days at Yamada's teashop at 3pm." he said as he turned to walk away.

"Uhh... Yeah. 3 pm, Thanks." Reioki replied as he walked out of sight. Reioki looked where she was and saw an office, so she walked in. A lady behind a desk looked up at her.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Ahh, yeah, I think so. I am looking for a teacher named Iruka." Reioki replied.

"Let's see... I think he left already. Do you want me to leave him a message?

"Ohh, no thank you. I will come back some other day." Reioki answered. Reioki gave a smile and turned around to walk out the door. As she started to walk out the door, an elderly man wearing a white cloak came in.

"Hello there. How are you today? I am Lord Hokage, Sarutobi. How can we help you, Reioki?" he said to her. Reioki looked at him with a shocked expression on her face.

"H...How do you know me?" asked Reioki feeling a bit horrified.

"I don't mean to scare you. You were brought in by Hatake, Kakashi and Might, Guy a few days ago. I know because it was in their mission report they submitted. So, How can we help you?" he asked with a smile on his face. Reioki looked and felt relieved.

"Well, I came here because the lady in the library told me to talk to a teacher named Iruka. I am looking for a little history on this village." Reioki said.

"Is that so. Well, I can give you some information. I know a lot about this village. What would you like to know?" he asked.

"Well, how old is this place. It is so peaceful." asked Reioki.

"Let's take a walk. I am going to be heading back to the administration building, we can talk on the way there." said Lord Hokage.

"Ok. Thank you. Lord Hokage." said Reioki. They walked out the office door and went out the doors of the academy. They started walking towards the administration building, which was not that far away.

"Lets see... Konoha was founded by the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan over 60 years ago. Then the First Hokage, Senju, Hashirama was selected. His brother, Tobirama, became the Second Hokage after him. He helped formed the military police for this village. When I was younger, I became the Third Hokage. Then about 15 years ago, Namikaze, Minito, became our Fourth Hokage. He died protecting this village, so I took the position of Hokage again. We have many clans that reside in this village. You will find that the Huga Clan lives here. They are the masters of the byakugan, and we also have the Aburame clan, they are the bug masters. Inuzuka clan has a pact with dogs. The Nara clan, witch takes care of the forest and the animals around here. Then we also had the Uchiha clan. Konoha has many other clans here as well, and we all live in harmony. We all have the will of fire. The will that keeps us together and to protect someone or something precious to us. That is what makes us all strong and united." Said Sarutobi.

"Oh. There is a lot going for this place. But... What happened with ... well, I am wondering about... uhh," Reioki tried to ask as Lord Hokage looked at her.

"You are wondering about the Uchiha clan... Well, that happened about 4 years ago. A young man from the Uchiha killed off his clan. Only one survived. He still lives in this village and is protected. I've made sure of that." said Sarutobi. Reioki looked concerned.

"Protected? What, ...do you think that the man that did this will come back for him?" asked a worried Reioki.

"Oh no. I don't believe that. No, I was just merely saying that we watch over him to make sure that nothing happens to him, since he is the only Uchiha left here. He is a very bright and gifted young man. His clan would of been proud." Said Sarutobi. Reioki had a questioning look on her face.

"Are there other Uchiha in other villages?" asked a hopeful Reioki.

"No. Not that I know of. They all resided here in Konoha." he answered.

"I see." said Reioki with a sad face and the pit in hr stomach returning. She almost looked like she was going to cry. Sarutobi and Reioki walked into the administrative building and down a hallway to his office. As they walked in, he said,

"I see something is bothering you. My I say something?" Sarutobi asked with a concerned look on his face.

"Sure." She said holding back tears, looking at the floor.

"What I am about to say might shock you, but I can tell you where close to him. He has a lot of good in him; so don't feel bad for caring about him. He had his reasons for doing what he did." said Sarutobi with a sad and concerned look on his face. Reioki looked up at him with a shocked look on her face. She wasn't sure how to answer that_. Does he really know about Itachi and I?... How?... What is this old man?_ She thought. Sarutobi just looked at her and waited for a response. Reioki got this questioning and concerned look on her face.

"I do not... I mean, well, what makes you think I know what you are saying? Why do you think that I feel that way?" asked Reioki. Sarutobi faced her with his arms around his back.

"Just between you and me... Is that ok with you?" he asked.

"Yeeeaah?" she replied still confused.

"When Itachi left, I tried to keep an eye on him occasionally. So,... one day I saw him with you, and the two of you were very close. I could see that. He trusted in you or he never would have been close to you. I was very happy to see that." he explained. Reoki looked confused and surprised.

"Well, I am a little confused... If he did kill off his clan... then... why would you care about if he were happy? Would you not be angry with him and want to hunt him down for what he did... like everyone else?" asked Reioki. The third gave a little nod with his head.

"Well, he is a criminal, and if caught, he will have to pay the price for what he has done. But, he was a member of my black opps unit. I knew him very well. He had a lot of good in his heart. Why he did what he did? He had his reasons. Reasons only he understands. And, it does break my heart, but that doesn't mean that I don't care for him. As for being angry, well, I would say I am more mournful for him than angry. Of course, not everyone shares my view on this, so I keep this to myself." he replied. Reioki's eye began to tear and she wiped it away trying not to cry.

"You are a good man Lord Hokage... So, it really is true. I was not sure that what I heard earlier was true. The Itachi I know, did not seem like the man to do something like that. I still have a hard time believing that it was him. He was so kind and so good to me. He protected me and respected me. How could someone like him do something like that? It confuses me! He was so good. How could he do that? I just do not understand!" Reioki said as she began to cry. Sarutobi looked at her and then gave her a hug.

"It is a very confusing thing. But that doesn't mean that you can't love him for who he was with you. Like I said, He had his reasons. As wrong as and confusing as that may be. And maybe someday his story about why he did what he did will come out, and maybe we will all be able to understand why he did what he did. Then again, maybe not. But what we do have is that WE know that he is a good person inside for he treated you well. We just have to keep that in mind. So, don't be so hard on your self. I see that you are a very good person yourself and wise beyond your years. You are a very special person, Reioki. And I can see why he trusted you." Sarutobi said.

"I hope your right." she said as they broke away from their hug. Reioki wiped away the tears from her eyes and face.

"Well, I have been known to be right about a few things." he said with a chuckle and a wink. Reioki smiled. She felt a little better.

"I do feel a little better. I am glad I got to talk to you. It answered a lot of my questions that were running through my mind. I will not feel bad for my feelings I have for Itachi, but I am going to try and not think about him. He is the one who left me. And, I am going to try and live a life new here. He will not be able to come back here and I am going to start over. I have to. I do not want to live in the past. I am going to move forward and make the best of It." she said with a smile on her face to the Third Hokage.

"Well, your welcome to visit anytime. If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them. You have a good outlook on life. That is good to see. Always know, you are not alone." he told her. Reioki gave a little smile.

"Thank you. I have learned a lot. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me. It really meant a lot to me. It is nice to be able to talk to someone about this." She said.

"Your welcome young lady." Sarutobi said to her as she was leaving. Reioki stopped right before she walked out the door and turned to face him.

"I know to keep this conversation just between us. But again, I thank you for the ease of mind you have given me." She said, and then turned around to walk out the door. Sarutobi gave her a nod as she left.

Reioki left the administration building with a small smile and a small peace of mind as she walked home.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Reioki got up early and got ready to go to work. She ate breakfast, got dressed, brushed her long black hair with silver bangs and walked out the door to go to the Yamada teashop for her first day of work. She was excited to start a new job and to meet new people.

As she got to the shop, she greeted Kashu as she walked in.

"Hello Kashu-sama. How are you this morning?" she asked as she took off her dark green cloak and hung it on the wall next to the door.

"Hello there, Reioki. Glad to see you. Let's get started. Would you mind if you started making the tea? I have a few things to do myself." He answered. Kashu went into the back with Reioki and showed her where to start. A few minutes later, people started coming in. It was consistent all day long, with a half hour break around 10am. During their break time, Kashu and Reioki discussed what he would pay her plus other things and that he would talk to her at the end of the day to see if she wanted to stay. Reioki was happy that everyone seemed so nice and that she enjoyed what she was doing.

Noontime came and the shop was busy again. A lot of people came in and out, most of them with happy faces. Time flew, and the next thing she knew, it was almost time to go. _15 minutes to go. Wow. The time zipped by. I really like this job._ She thought.

As she was cleaning up a table, a tall girl, she thought to be her age, with short purple hair and green eye's came in for some tea and dango. She seemed quiet and a bit shy. She sat down in the corner of the shop and ate dango and drank her tea. Reioki went to the back to put the cups and dishes away. She cleaned up the mess that was on a counter as well as folding and put away some clean towels that came from the cleaners that Kashu had picked up earlier. When she came back out, the girl was gone. Reioki cleaned up the table she was sitting at and brought the dish and cup back to the kitchen. She looked at the clock and saw it a little after 3. She picked up her backpack and approached Kashu to let him know it was time for her to go.

"I thought things went well today. How about working the same hours Monday thru Friday. Would that be good for you?" Kashu asked. Reioki smiled.

"Yeah. That would be great. I will see you at 7am tomorrow." She replied with a smile. He gave her a nod and a smile back.

"Great! I will see you tomorrow." He said with a wave. She grabbed her dark green cloak and left.

When Reioki got home, she grabbed her only book she brought with her and went out to her balcony and read for a bit. About 10 minutes later, she put the book down. She looked up to the sky and thought for a while. _Hmm. I wonder what I should have for dinner. I am getting hungry. What do I have here? Hmm. I have apples and, I do have sweet potato and egg plant. But I am out of rice for dinner, so I better go to the mart and get some_. She thought. Reioki got up and went inside with her book. She placed the book on an empty shelf that was between the washroom and the closet. She went into the closet and grabbed her pouch from her backpack, walked over to the door, put on her shoes and walked out to go to the market.

When Reioki got to the market, she bought tofu, rice, seaweed, and rice paper wraps. She paid for her stuff and started to walk back to her place when she bumped into Might, Guy.

"Oh. Ahh, Hi. How are you?" she asked. Guy looked at her and gave his charming smile.

"Well, hello there. I'm fine. How are you doing this fine evening?" He asked her. Reioki smiled.

"I am doing fine. I just bought my self dinner and, I am on my way home to make it." she replied with a smile. He kept looking at her.

"That's great. Everyone should eat a home cooked meal. So, how is Konoha living for you?" he asked. Reioki gave a little laugh.

"So far so good. I got a job at Yamada's teashop and I like the place you found for me. I have visited the library and the academy. I even got to talk to your Hokage. He is a very nice man." She told him. He gave her the thumbs up and smiled.

"That's great. I'm glad you are getting to know Konoha. If you ever want to explore Konoha, or just go and hang out somewhere, call on me. I can help you with that." He told her with another smile and thumbs up. Reioki just looked at him funny.

"Okaay. Anyway, it was great talking to you." She told him as she waved and walked away. Guy waved back as he walked in the other direction. Reioki laughed to her self. _He is so weird, but he really is nice. Though, I really do not know him. I suppose I could take him up on his offer one of these days... Oh, I do not know._ She thought.

Reioki walked back home, put her groceries away that she wasn't going to use right away and then made dinner. She ate and then decided to go for a walk before the sun went down. She went down to the street and started walking towards the memorial. When she got there, the sun had already started to set. Reioki walked to the memorial and sat near it. As she looked towards the mountains, she noticed the girl with the purple hair she saw earlier in the teashop, sitting next to one of the three stumps in the ground. She too was watching the sun set. Reioki got up and walked over to where the girl was. She stood next to her and watched the sun setting. The girl with the purple hair looked up at Reioki to see who was standing next to her and then looked back to the sunset. Reioki looked at her.

"Hi. Pretty is it not?" she said to her. The girl with the purple hair just nodded her head still looking at the sunset. Rioki looked towards the sunset.

"So, do you hang out here often?" she asked the girl. The girl with the purple hair looked up at her.

"No. I just got here." She answered. Reioki looked at her with a confused look on her face.

"You mean that you just arrived in Konoha?" she asked. The girl looked away from her and back to watching the sunset.

"Yes. I am new here." She answered. Reioki smiled.

"Heh. Me too. I saw you earlier at the teashop I work at. I just got here almost a week ago myself. I like it here." Reioki told her. The sun was almost behind the mountains by now. You could just see the top of the sun between the mountaintops. The colors were so beautiful.

"It seems to be a peaceful place. What I've seen of it so far is nice." The purple haired girl answered.

"Yeah. The people are nice too. By the way, my name is Rikudo, Reioki. What is yours?" she asked. The purple haired girl became a little red in the face as she looked at her.

"Umm, well, my name is Yoshida, Takara." she answered as she looked away. Reioki smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you, Takara. So, do you plan on staying for a while?" she asked. Takara continued to look towards the setting sun, which had almost disappeared.

"Well, that depends on if I like it here." she said with a small smile. Reioki watched the sun disappear behind the mountains. Takara got up from where she was sitting. She looked at Reioki and then back to the ground.

"Well, I guess I'm going to go." Said Takara as she started to walk away. Reioki started to walk with her.

"Yeah, me too. I will walk with you, if that is ok with you?" she asked. Takara looked at her with a small smile.

"Uhh, yeah. Sure." she replied. The walked away from the memorial site and headed for town.

"I think the village looks pretty at night all lit up like this. It feels safe to walk around here." she said. Takara looked at her.

"It's like any other village. Just different scenery." she said. Reioki looked at her with one eyebrow up and shook her head.

"Do not go to the Rain village. You cannot do this there. Not with out being attacked or harassed for something. Or at least, that is what I hear. I was not allowed to go out at night. Come to think of it, I really was not allowed to go out too much in the day time either, for the same reason." Reioki told her. Takara gave a small smile.

"Well, That doesn't sound like too much fun. But, I can take care of myself." she replied. Reioki gave her a smirk.

"Oh, I am sure you can. I was not trying to say that you could not. I was only trying to say that you cannot walk in the rain village with out someone trying to hurt you at some point in your life. It is just not safe. Even if I could take on someone, I still would not want to put myself in situations to get hurt." She told her as they walked down the street. Takara nodded her head. _Though, I seemed to have done that a lot for a while_. Reoki thought but didn't share that thought.

"I see what you mean. But, I'm not afraid of that. I know I can take care of myself." She said. Reioki nodded her head.

"I am glad to hear that. Well, this is where I turn to go home. It was nice talking to you. Umm, if you feel like talking again, feel free to come into the teashop. I will be there. Ok?" she told her with a big smile on her face. Takara smiled back.

"Sure. See ya around." She answered. Reioki waved to her as she turned the corner and found herself down the street from her home. She walked up to her home and entered. _She seems really nice._ Reioki thought to herself as she walked into her home. She turned on a light, walked over to the shelves and grabbed her book and sat down on her bed. Tomorrow, I meet with Kakashi-sama. I wonder what I am going to learn. Hmmm. She thought to herself. She laid down and thought of what he could possibly teach her and of what she didn't know. She remembered how good Itachi was at fighting and how he protected her. She remembered the first time he had to save her.

_Itachi and Reioki were walking down the street of the rain village towards the tea and dango shop. This had been their fourth outing and Itachi wasn't so upset this time. He actually walked next to her, but he really didn't talk to her that much. Just short answers to her questions. As they got there, Inoshu, a tall blond girl with brown eyes, came up to her._

"_Oh my gosh! Are you really out and about? Wow! I can't believe it! And who's the hottie with you?" she asked. Reioki looked at her and smiled. _

"_Ohh, Umm, that is my guard. His name is Itachi. And yeah, I am actually able to go out. Thanks to him. He does not talk much though." She answered. Inoshu_ _grabbed Reioki's hand and dragged her to the table she and her friends were sitting at. _

"_Hey everyone, this is my friend, Rikudo, Reioki. She is an old friend of mine. Reioki, this is Sunairo, Sango and Yatsu, Iki." She introduced as she walked up to them. Itachi stood outside of the dango shop while Reioki sat inside with Inoshu and her friends. After being there for 5 minutes, Reioki excused herself and walked over to Itachi._

"_Would you like to join us? You do not have to stand out her by yourself." she asked. Itachi gave a small smile. _

"_No. I am fine." He answered. She shrugged her shoulders as she walked away. _

"_Ok. If that's what you want to do." She said. She sat back down at the table and listened to Inoshu and her friend's talk. Inoshu looked at Reioki._

"_What's with him? He looks to be our age. How did he end up being your guard?" Reioki shrugged her shoulders._

"_I do not know. My father introduced me to him and told me to listen to him. Like I said he does not talk much, so I do not know much about him." she said. Inoshu smirked. _

"_Well, at least he's cute." she said to her. Reioki rolled her eyes and smiled. _

_ They socialized for about an hour before Reioki decided to go. She told everyone good-bye and got up from the table. She walked over to Itachi and they left. On their way home, they heard screaming and yelling from up ahead. She became concerned and walked a little faster. Then up ahead, she saw two men kicking a little boy and his father on the side of the road. Reioki froze and then became angry. She ran up to them. As soon as she got there, Itachi grabbed her arm. _

"_Stop it! Please! Stop hurting them!" Reioki yelled. The two shinobi that were kicking the man and little boy turned to look at who was yelling at them. They saw Reioki and Itachi standing there and smirked at them. _

"_You want us to stop? Mind your own business! This doesn't concern you!" said one of the shinobi. The other shinobi looked at Reioki and hit the other one._

"_Hey. Isn't that...?" asked the other shinobi as he pointed to Reioki. The other shinobi looked and smiled. _

"_Maybe. She looks like the description Lord Hanzou gave us. Long black hair with silver bangs." He said. Reioki just shook her head. _

"_Please leave them alone. They are really hurt. You should just leave." she said to them as she tried to walk towards the man and his boy. Itachi pulled her back. She looked at him with a disappointed look._

"_Let go! I need to help them." She said to Itachi trying to pry his hand off her arm. He continued to hang on to her but looked at the two shinobi._

"_Yeah! Why don't you let her go! Then we can take care of you and take the girl back to Hanzou." One shinobi said. Itachi gave a smirk and let go of Reioki. As soon as Itachi let go, Reioki started to walk over to the man and his boy. One Shinobi went after Reioki while the other went after Itachi. Reioki bent down, scanned him with her doujutsu and started to apply healing chakra to the boy, for he needed it first. When she was done with the boy she looked back and both shinobi were lying on the ground. She saw one getting back up as she turned around to heal the man. With-in minutes, he was healed. They thanked her and she told them to go. When she turned around to see what was happening, she found Itachi just watching her. She looked around to see the other shinobi laying on the ground unconscious. Reioki looked with shocked eyes as she started to walk over to the shinobi. She bent down and started to heal one of them. Itachi just looked on with widened eyes then shook his head. _

"_What are you doing? Let's go! They will be fine." He told her. Reioki finished healing the first shinobi as he came to. _

"_Why.. Why did you heal me?" he asked. Reioki just looked at him with concern. _

"_Because your a precious life. Everyone deserves a chance to live." She told him as she walked over to his partner. She bent down and started to heal him. The first shinobi just sat there with a shocked look on his face. Itachi just watched as she did her healing. She healed the other shinobi and stood up._

"_Now. Please leave. Stop bothering the villagers and, hurting them. They do not deserve to be treated that way." she demanded. They looked at her and then to Itachi. They nodded their heads and walked away slowly. Reioki watched them as they walked away, one helping the other walk. She sighed. Itachi walked up to her._

"_Let's go." He told her. She looked up at him and then started to walk as she looked forward._

"_Thank you for what you did back there." she told him. _

"_That's my job." He told her. She stopped and looked at him._

"_No. I meant about letting me heal the others." She said. He stopped walking and turned to look at her._

"_Well, that did surprise me. They attacked those people and tried to attack us. Why did you heal them?" he asked. She continued to look at him._

"_Like I said before. Every life is precious. I do not believe in hurting people. I believe that through kindness and caring, that everyone deserves a chance. I do not know... maybe if a kind deed is done to them, then maybe they will return it someday. That there is kindness in the world." She answered. Itachi started to walk again. Reioki walked next to him. _

"_You are definitely not what I expected you to be like." He told her. She looked at him with a puzzled look on her face while they walked._

"_Is that a bad thing?" she asked. He gave a smirk._

"_No." he answered. She looked forward as they walked. _

"_But, you need to watch what you are doing. You put your life in danger by not looking at the situation. You let emotions run you and didn't care if you got hurt or not. You're no good to anyone if you're taken out." he told her. She cocked her head to the side and, thought about what he said. _

"_Your right. I am sorry. I did not see it that way. I just needed to help them and was not thinking of the situation." She told him as she looked to the ground. He looked towards her._

"_I am saying this, so you don't make the same mistake the next time something like this should happen, especially if I'm not around. I don't want to see anything happen to you. You're a good person." He told her. Reioki looked up at him as he spoke. She gave him a smile._

"_Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it." She told him. He smiled as he looked forward. _

Reioki smiled at remembering this. Then she felt a sadness come over her. Itachi, why did you leave me? She thought to herself. Reioki got up and walked to the kitchenette and, got her self a cup of water. She grabbed an apple and began to eat it. She shook her head a little as she thought.

_Stop it Reioki! You are starting new. It does not matter anymore. It was not meant to be. I cannot be thinking like that_. She thought to herself. She walked over to the window and looked out. _Mom, I wish you were here. I miss you_. She thought as she took her finger and pressed it against the window. Reioki looked to the sky and saw the stars as a tear fell from her eye. She wiped it away and walked back to her bed. She grabbed her book and started to read until she fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

In the morning, Reioki got herself ready to go. She walked out the door and walked to work. She greeted Kashu when she got there and started to boil water for the tea. The morning was busy with people coming in and going out. It was nice to see all the smiling faces. She liked to be busy. It made the day go by fast and made her feel like she accomplished a lot.

Around 11:00am, she took a small break and had a cup of tea with some dango herself. It was nice to sit for a bit, since she was on her feet all morning long. As she sat at the table by the open entrance, she looked out to see all the shops around and how peaceful it was here. She watched all the people walking from store to store and noticing that nobody had a fear that someone would come and attack them at any given time. Reioki had a smile on her face with this thought. She realized that she was lost in thought so, she got up and went back to work.

For the rest of the day, Reioki took orders, cleaned up tables and helped Kashu with the dishes in the back and helped make the teas to be served. It kept her busy and made the time fly by. She didn't even notice the time until Kakashi came in.

"Oh! Hi. I am sorry. I forgot all about the time." She said as she looked at the clock on the wall, which read 3:22pm. She gave him a look with one eyebrow up. Kakashi looked at her with his hands in the air.

"Umm, yeah. Sorry about that. I'm a little late myself. So, I'll just grab a table over here and wait." he said pointing at a table by the door. Reioki smiled.

"Sure. Would you like some tea? I can bring us some when I come back." she asked. Kakashi took a seat and faced her.

"Uhh, Sure. That would be nice. Thanks." he said. Reioki walked back to make the tea and told Kashu that she was done for the day.

"Hey Reioki. You did a great job today. Thank you." Kashu asked. Reioki smiled as she was making tea for her and Kakashi. She bent down to her backpack and fumbled around a few minutes looking for her pouch with her money. When she found it, she took some out and stood back up.

"Umm, Kashu? I wanted to say thank you for giving me a chance here. I really appreciate it." She said handing Kashu the money for the tea she was making. Kashu smiled at her.

"Reioki. I am glad you came here. I should be thanking you. Anyway, you're welcome. Please don't worry about paying. That is my way of thanking you for helping me. You work here now." He said to her with a smile. Reioki gave a small laugh.

"All right. See you tomorrow." she replied. She poured two cups of tea and started to walk out to the table where Kakashi was sitting. She brought the tea over to the table and sat across from Kakashi.

"It is jasmine green tea. I hope you like that. So, what do you need to know about training someone?" she asked with a curious look on her face. Kakashi gave a small laugh.

"You get right to the point. Well, yes, I like jasmine tea. So, the answer to your other question is, I need to know what you can do now." he said. Reioki looked at him with a scrunched up face.

"Ahh, haa, Yeah. Well, not much of anything. I can run." She said sarcastically.

"I can heal as well." she continued to say. Kakashi looked at her and gave a nod.

"I see. A clean slate. Ok. You can heal, so that tells me that you have some chakra control. You also made the comment about not wanting to kill anyone the other day. So, maybe we shall start off with accuracy. How does that sound?" He asked. Reioki smiled.

"Your the teacher. Sure. Sounds good to me. So, what about payment? What would you like for this?" Reioki asked. Kakashi smiled through his mask.

"You probably don't make to much here, so we will see how it goes. You need money to live here, so we will say, pay what you can afford that week. How's that sound?" Reioki looked suspiciously at him.

"That sounds great, but... why so nice?" she asked with concern. Kakashi gave a small laugh. He put his hand to his chin with his elbow to the table.

"Still the cautious one, huh. Well, I'm not here to rob you or anything. I am here to help. I know you just started to work, so you are going to need to budget yourself on what you make. So, once you figure all that out then pay me what you can. It's as simple as that." he replied. Reioki sat back in her chair and smiled.

"Thank you. So, when do we start?" she asked? Kakashi smiled back through his mask.

"Well, I have a mission starting tomorrow. It should only last for about a day. Today is Wednesday, so how about we start Friday. You work until 3pm right?" he asked. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yes. 7am to 3pm, Monday thru Friday." she answered.

"All righty then, lets start Friday about 3:30pm. We'll meet here. How's that?" he asked. Reioki gave a smirk.

"Ok, but let us make it for 3pm. I do not feel like sitting around for a half hour." She said. Kakashi gave a small laugh.

"Ok, 3pm it is. I will try and be on time this time." he replied as he got up from the table. Reioki gave a small laugh.

"Ok then. I will see you Friday." She said as he waved good-bye and walked out the door. Reioki finished her tea and left for home.

On her way home, Reioki decided to wander around the village. She stopped by the fruit and vegetable stand and bought a few apples, leaks, carrots, and pears. After she paid the salesman, she began to walk home again. As she walked around, she saw a clearing with a large upright stone in the center of a flagstone area and behind the stone was a flagpole. Reioki approached the rock and noticed there were names engraved into it_. Hmmm. This must be a memorial of some sort._ She thought as she looked at it. She looked to one side and saw the river with the mountains in the background. As she looked to the other side, she saw three stumps in the ground and hedges surrounded the entire place. It was beautiful and peaceful. Reioki turned around and walked back towards town.

As Reioki walked through town, she noticed a small shop with books in it. She stopped in to see what they had. She greeted the salesperson as she walked in. The shop was small, but quaint. It had scrolls and pens for writing, notebooks, cards, books, and gift things around the store. Reioki noticed a book that caught her eye. It had a small purple and blue butterfly on the cover. She picked it up and looked at the cover. She opened it to see what was inside, but it only had blank pages. She put the book down and looked around again. This time she went over to where the books were. She rummaged through the books to see if there were any that struck an interest. She found on plants and herbs. _This one looks interesting. I think I will get this. At least I will have something else to read_. She thought. Reioki brought the book to the counter and paid for it. She smiled and walked out of the store_. I need to stop buying things. I need to keep what money I have left to live off of until I get paid on Friday_. She thought as she walked home.

When she got home, she put away her groceries she bought earlier, except for an apple, and then walked over to her bed. As she sat on the bed, she took out her new book. She then took a bite of the apple she bought earlier. She picked up her new book and decided to eat and read on the balcony. She walked over to the sliding window, climbed out on to the small balcony she had and sat down to read while she ate her apple. _This is stuff I pretty much already know_. She thought as she read. She came across a page with some pictures and started to laugh. She noticed in the book that the labels were mixed up on the pictures of what plant was what.

"Opps. That is wrong. They should have caught that before they printed. Heh… Oh well." she said softly to herself. She continued to read for a bit longer until the sun started to set. Reioki put the book down and looked around_. Hmmm. I could get some planters out here and grow some stuff. That would be a nice touch out here. _She thought. _But that will have to wait a bit. I need to see what I need to live off of. _She continued to think. She got to her feet and walked to the edge of the balcony to see what was around. _There are a lot of trees around here. It is really nice. My village is more buildings and water. We do not have as many trees. I do, however, miss the lake. It was beautiful to look at. I loved wading in it with my mother. I also miss the private baths. Which reminds me... I should go take one. _She thought to herself. Reioki picked up her book and climbed in the big window that went out to the balcony. She put the book on the shelf that was next to the one other book she owned. She went into the closet, grabbed her cloak and walked out the door towards the bathhouse.

Reioki made it to the bathhouse in 15 minutes. It was a nice walk there. She walked into the women's side of the bathhouse to the locker room where she got undressed and wrapped up in a towel. She walked into the hot spring and took off the towel and sat down into the water. She leaned up against the side of the spring, leaned her head back and closed her eyes to enjoy the hot water. As she lay there, she remembered the book at the store with the purple and blue butterfly on the cover. Reioki gave a small smile to the thought. _That is funny that memory should pop into my mind. _She thought as she continued to think about the butterfly and how pretty it was. Then she remembered a memory she had with her father about chakra calling.

_Reioki was in the courtyard at their home in the rain village. Her father, a tall red haired man, stood next to a 7 year old Reioki who was looking up at him. _

"_Now, all you really need to do is this." he said as he showed her one hand sign. As he did this, a few birds came to him. Reioki looked amazed. _

"_WOW DAD! Can I do that?" she asked him. He looked down to his daughter._

"_That is why we are here. Now, do the hand sign, and then call out in your mind to what you want to attract with your chakra." he instructed her. _

"_Anything?" she asked. He gave her a smile._

"_Start with something small, but yeah. You will be able to ask for the assistance of many animals that are around you." He told her. Reioki beamed at her father with excitement. Then she did what her father told her to do. She did the hand sign and called out with her chakra. Then a swarm of butterflies came at her and landed on her. Reioki's eyes widened as they came. _

"_Oh wow! Look dad! I did it! I really did it!" she exclaimed. Reioki had a big smile on her face as she looked at him. Her father smiled at her._

"_Butterflies, huh. Heh.. You need to tone down the chakra a bit. You don't need to call so many, but I'm proud of you. It will be very helpful to know this." He told her. Reioki nodded her head as she looked at the butterflies. _

"_You will also be able to send messages though them as well." Said the soft voice of her mother. Reioki looked over towards the courtyard door to see her mother, a pale faced woman with white-silver hair with black that flowed in the long spiral curls and eyes that matched Reioki's, standing there watching. Reioki smiled at her._

"_Mommy! Did you see? Did you see me do that summoning thing?" she asked excitedly. Her mother walked over to her and gave her a smile._

"_Of course I did. You were great. But that does not surprise me. You were learning from the best." Renai said with a big smile on her face. She walked over to her husband and kissed him on the cheek. He put his arm around her and kissed her back. Reioki rolled her eyes, but smiled. _

"_It's not an actual summoning, just a simple calling with chakra." Her father explained. Reioki giggled._

"_Umm.. dad? Uhh, how do you get them off?" said Reioki with a concerned look on her face. He looked at her and gave a small laugh. _

"_Use the same hand sign and say, scatter." he told her. Reioki did this and they all flew away. _

"_Wow! That was cool. Thanks dad." she said. She walked up to her mother and father and gave her dad a hug. He let go of his wife and picked up his daughter and gave her a big hug and kissed her on the cheek. Reioki wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back and then put her head on his shoulder._

Reioki smiled at this memory she just had. Just then a woman came into the hot spring and sat next to her. Reioki looked at her and smiled. The lady had long dark purple hair and dark eyes. She smiled back.

"Hi." she said to Reioki as she sat. Reioki lifted her head and faced her.

"Hello. Nice night, is it not?" Reioki asked. The lady leaned back against the hot spring wall.

"Yeah. It sure is." she answered. Reioki put her head back against the wall again and closed her eyes. Reioki lay there for another 5 minutes in silence, just enjoying the hot springs.

"Your new around here. I haven't seen you before." Said the lady. Reioki didn't move.

"Yeah. I just got here a few days ago. It is really nice here. I like it." Reioki answered.

"Yeah. It is. I love it here." Said the lady. Reioki turned her head towards her.

"My name is Rikudo, Reioki. Nice to meet you." she said to the lady. The lady turned her head towards Reioki and smiled.

"Uzuki, Yugao. Nice to meet you." Reioki turned her head back to where it was.

"Reioki, huh. Your the girl Kakashi and Guy brought back." Yougo said. Reioki scrunched her face.

"Great. Everyone and their mother must know about that. How embarrassing." replied Reioki. Yougo sat up and looked at her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. That wasn't my intention. I just work under the Hokage and know information. I just recognized the name." She explained sympathetically. Reioki gave a small smile, but didn't look at her.

"Do not worry about it. You are just trying to be nice. Yougo smiled at her and leaned back against the wall.

"That's good. You seem to be a really nice person. I'm glad I met you." Yougo said. Reioki turned her head towards Yougo.

"Thank you. You seem to be a nice person too. I am always glad to meet new people that are nice. It is the ones that are not, you have to watch out for." Reioki said. Yougo gave a small laugh as she put her head back to relax.

"Oh, how true that is." she replied. Reioki sat up and grabbed her towel that was on the side of the spring. She stood up and wrapped the towel around her and got out.

"Well, It was nice to meet you. If I stay in here too much longer, I will pass out from the heat. Hope to see you around." Reioki said. Yougo lifted up her hand and waved.

"Yeah, nice to meet you too. See ya." she replied as Reioki was walking away. She went into the locker room and got dresses.

As she walked out of the bathhouse, she noticed how dark it was out and how pretty Konoha was lit up. She walked home feeling relaxed and clean with a smile on her face.

* * *

><p>Reioki woke in the morning and got ready for work, like she did the past few days. But this morning, she wasn't her bright cheery self. She felt like she had a black cloud hanging over her head. <em>I do not feel so good today<em>. She thought to her self. She checked herself with her doujutsu and found herself to be fine. She walked out the door and went to work.

When she got to work, she greeted Kashu and started to boil water for the tea. Kashu walked over to her.

"Are you ok? Is something bothering you today? You're not your cheerful self." He said. Reioki shrugged her shoulders and looked sad.

"I do not know what is wrong with me. I just woke up feeling like something was bothering me, but I do not know what it is." she replied. Kashu looked at her and smiled.

"Ahh, Just one of those days. I get those sometimes. Just try and think of the good things you have. It doesn't always work, but At least I try." he told her. She gave him a smile.

"Well, I can start off by thinking about this job. I am happy to have it." She told him. Kashu smiled at her.

"I am glad to hear that. I like having you around." he told her. Reioki felt a little better as the day went on. She was cheerful to the customers that came in and, tried to make the best of her funky mood. By the time her break came she was feeling better. _Oh yeah. I almost forgot. I have to train with Kakashi today. That should be fun. I wonder what we are going to do_. She thought. That seemed to brighten her mood. After her break, she cleaned up tables before the rush came in for lunchtime. Kashu looked at her when she came into the back.

"Looks like your feeling better." he said. She smiled at him.

"Yeah. I just remembered that I am going to do some training today. I am excited about that." She told him. He looked at her.

"Training? What are you trying to learn?" he asked. Reioki grabbed a bunch of dishes and put them into the sink.

"Well, I am going to learn self defense. I want to know that I can hold my ground if confronted." she told him as she washed some cups. He looked to the counter he was wiping off.

"Oh. That's good to know. I'm glad your learning that." he told her as he brought a few more dishes to the sink. Reioki finished what she was cleaning and started drying the cups and set them on the counter.

"Yeah, me too. Kakashi said he is going to start to teach me accuracy first. I wonder how that will be taught?" she asked. Kashu shrugged his shoulders.

"Have no idea. He is the teacher." he replied. Reioki laughed.

Reioki walked out to the counter and saw a lady with dark short hair and, had on a long coat. She ordered some dango and a cup of tea to go. Reioki took the order and went back to get it ready. Kashu brought it up front when it was done. She heard him talk to the lady.

"Oh, hello Anko. How are you tody?" he asked her. Anko gave a small laugh.

"Oh, everything is going well, so I see you have new help. That's nice." She said. Reioki started to finish the dishes that she didn't do. She dried them and put them away. Just in time for the lunchtime rush. That made the day go by fast.

At the end of her shift, she got herself a cup of tea and sat down at a table. _Kakashi should be here soon. I hope_. She thought to herself. Reioki sat there and thought for a while_. I am glad I got this time to rest. My feet hurt_. She thought_. I wonder how I am going to learn accuracy today. I should be able to do something. My dad could do things. So could my mom. …I seem to remember doing things too when I was younger, but after our house was raided, I could not do anything I learned except for healing and chakra calling_. She thought. As she sat there and waited, she looked outside to watch the people walk by. She saw a little girl walk by with a butterfly on her shirt. Reioki smiled when she saw this. _Pretty butterfly. I should send my father one. At least he will know I am alive_. She thought. Reioki did a hand sign and a butterfly came to her. It landed on her finger and she looked at it. She focused her chakra encoded with a message then gave it to the butterfly. She gave a smile and whispered, _scatter_. Reioki watched the butterfly fly away. When her eyes came back to the table, she saw Kakashi standing there.

"Uhh, Hi. Sorry I'm late. Ready to go?" he asked her. She looked at the clock and saw it was 3:40pm. She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Are you ever on time?" she asked with a laugh. Kakashi smiled through the mask he wore.

"Well, sometimes I am." He replied. Reioki stood up and gave a small laugh.

"Well, It just so happens that I needed the rest. My feet hurt for a while. They are ok now, but not when I first sat down." She told him as they walked out the door.

Reioki and Kakashi walked down the street towards the memorial.

"So... What kind of training am I going to be doing?" she asked. He continued to look forward as they walked.

"Well, I am going to see how well your chakra control is. Then we will go from there." He said. Reioki nodded her head.

"And how are you going to do that?" she asked.

"Heh, well, you are going to climb a tree." He told her. She looked at him with a funny look.

"Ahh, ok... climb a tree. You are the teacher." She said. Kakashi gave a small laugh.

"You'll see what I mean." He told her.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Reioki and Kakashi got to the memorial and walked up to the trees. She looked at the trees and then touched one of them. Reioki turned towards him and tilted her head.

"Ok. Now, what am I going to do?" she asked Kakashi with a confused look. He looked at her.

"Ok. Watch me. I am going to show you what I want you to do." he told her. He walked over to the tree and started to walk up the trunk of the tree. He got about half way up and turned to face her. Reioki Just looked at him with amazement.

"Aaahhh, Y-you want me to do that?" she asked with shock in her voice. Kakashi looked down at her and smiled.

"Actually, Yes. It might take you a while to get the hang of it, but eventually you will do this." he told her. Reioki thought about this and smiled.

"Ok, so how do I do this?" she asked. Kakashi came down from the tree and explained to her what she had to do.

"Ok. You know how to build up chakra, right? Well, Instead of using it to use it to heal, focus the energy of the chakra towards the soles of your feet and use the power to cling to the trunk of the tree." he explained. Reioki looked at him and smiled. She looked to her feet and then closed her eyes. She focused her chakra to the soles of her feet and then tried to climb the tree. Her first step on to the tree went not only on it, but also straight into the trunk. Reioki looked frightened. Kakashi gave a small laugh.

"Ok, Well as you can tell, you need to manipulate the chakra control to the bottom of the feet. Too much chakra, and you will go through the tree, like you just did. Too little chakra, and you won't be able to cling to the tree. The bottom of your feet is an area where-"

"It is most difficult to manipulate ones chakra. Yeah, That part I know. I also know that there are many points of pressure on the bottom of your feet to indicate problems in your body as well." Reioki said as she finished Kakashi's sentence. Kakashi smiled at her through his mask.

"Well, you are a bright one. Let's see how well you do with climbing trees." He said. Reioki nodded her head and tried to climb the tree again. This time she got three steps without putting her foot in the tree. When Reioki got back to the ground, she stopped and thought about what she was doing. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the bottom of her feet and then the tree. She tried again and found herself a bit higher this time_. This is hard, but I know I can do this._ She thought.

Kakashi sat back and watched a few times and then pulled out a book and began to read. She did this a few more times and figured it out. She went to the middle of the tree and turned to look at Kakashi.

"Very good. I see you've got the hang of it. Nice job. Now, Let's see what else you can do." he told her as he put his book away. Reioki came down from the tree and sat by Kakashi.

"What are you going to teach me now?" she asked. Kakashi looked at her.

"I thought it would be best to teach you accuracy. I though it was best to teach you to throw senbon. Since you don't want to kill anyone, I figured this would be best for you." He asnwered. Reioki looked confused.

"Senbon? But those are needles that are used for healing. How are they used for defense?" she asked. Kakashi smiled at her through his mask again.

"Well, if trained right, with accuracy, you can throw them to hit points on the body to immobilize them. Just like the shinobi from your village use on you that one day." He explained. Reioki's eyes lit up.

"Ohh! I get it! That way, I could immobilize them without killing them!" she said with excitement. Kakshi smiled again.

"All righty then, let's get started." He said as he got up. Reioki got up and followed him. They walked over by the three stumps that were in the ground. They stood about 12 feet from them. Kakashi pulled out the senbon from his vest and showed her how to hold them. Then he showed her how to throw them. He handed them to Reioki.

"Ok. Now focus you chakra into the senbon and then throw them like I showed you. Now, let's see how you do. Try and hit the stump." He told her. Reioki took the senbon and held them like he showed her and threw them. They missed the stump completely. Reioki shook her head with disappointment. Kakashi looked at her.

"Don't worry about it. It takes time to get the feel for throwing senbon. Try and release your chakra into them as you throw." he told her. Reioki nodded her head and tried again. Again, she missed. She kept trying over and over until she was able to hit the stump a few times. Kakashi walked up to her about a half hour later.

"That didn't take very long." He told her. Reioki still looked disappointed.

"It may have not taken me long to hit the stump, but throwing them accurately, well, that may take much longer." she told him. Kakashi gave a small laugh.

"I never said this was going to be easy. I just said that this is what I thought was best for you to learn." he said. Reioki smiled at him.

"Heh, yeah, yeah. I know." she said.

"Well that should do it for today. You just keep practicing. Eventually it will become easy to you." He told her. Reioki looked at him and smiled.

"Kakashi... Thank you." She said. He smiled at her.

"You're welcome. Let's meet up again in a few days from now to see your progress." He told her. Reioki nodded her head.

"Sure. Sounds good to me. How about we meet at the teashop around 2:30pm on Monday. That will give me time to practice." She said. Kakashi had a confused look on his face.

"2:30pm? I thought you worked until 3pm?" he asked. Reioki grinned.

"Yeah well, maybe if you show up on time, you can wait for me instead." she told him.

"Heh, You got a point. Ok, 2:30pm, Monday, it is." he said as he waved good-bye and took off. Reioki just shook her head as she smiled. _Yeah, right. I do not think that guy can ever be on time_. She thought as she looked at the senbon.

Reioki practiced for about an hour more before she decided to go. She was really getting hungry and was getting frustrated with throwing. She started to walk slowly past the memorial stone and then stopped before she passed it. She looked at it, and read some of the names on the stone. _They must have died in battle_. She thought. Then her heart sank. She went down on her knees and looked to the sky. _Mom! I am sorry. I just now remembered... Today is your birthday._ She thought as tears fell down her face. Reioki touched the stone and closed her eyes and remembered her mothers smiling face. She opened them and wiped off the tears away from her eyes and face. She stood up and walked away from there looking to the ground. She was so upset with her self for not remembering such an important date. _How could I have forgotten my mother's birthday? I can't believe it._ She thought. Reioki walked slowly with her head down and wasn't paying attention to where she was going. Her thoughts were on her mother and didn't bother much to see her surroundings. When she looked up, she found herself someplace she didn't recognize. _Hmmm. Where am I?_ She thought. She looked around, but didn't see anything familiar. She turned around and started to walk back the way she came from to see if something would start to look familiar. As she did this, she heard a familiar voice.

"Hello there Reioki. Nice to see you again." said Guy. Reioki looked relieved to see him. He was in his familiar green jump suit and had on that "Guy" smile he always had.

"Hi. I am really glad to see you actually. I do not recognize this place at all, and I am not sure how to get home." she told him. He smiled at her.

"Fear not. I will help you get out of here. Follow me." He told her. She walked beside him, but didn't say anything. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"So, You don't look like your cheerful self, what seems to be the problem besides being lost?" he asked. Reioki gave a weak smile.

Well, I am just disappointed with myself." she said to him. He looked forward again.

"Oh. I see. Why would you be disappointed with yourself?" he asked. Reioki took a deep breath and let it out. In the process of taking this deep breath, she smelled the most delicious food. Her stomach began to rumble. She gave a small laugh.

"In all this mess, I forgot about how hungry I am. I left from training hungry and then got lost and then-" she was interrupted by Guy.

"Why don't I treat you to dinner. I haven't eaten anything yet as well, so, then you can tell me what is bothering you. How does that sound?" he asked. She put her head down and thought about it. Her stomach growled and then she looked up at him with a weak smile.

"You are really a nice friend. Thank you." She said. They walked around the corner to the diner that the wonderful smell was coming from. Reioki's mouth started to water. They ordered their food and sat down at a table. He looked at her.

"So, you were training. What are you learning?" he asked. Reioki looked at him.

"Kakashi is teaching me how to use senbon. It is not easy and I am getting frustrated with it." she told him. Guy smiled.

"Kakashi, huh? Well, you picked a great teacher to learn from, beside myself. So, this is what has been bothering you?" he asked. Reioki looked frustrated.

"That is just part of it. After I started to leave from training, I saw the memorial and remembered that it is my mother's birthday today. I can not believe I forgot my mother's birthday." She told him. Guy gave a small laugh.

"Well, it's not to late. At least you remembered it. You could give her a call and let her know you remembered it." he said with a smile. She looked down to the table.

"I can not. She died when I was 12. It is not the fact that I cannot get a hold of her, it is the fact that I forgot about such an important date as this. It is almost like forgetting about her all together, like she is not important. But, it is the complete opposite. She was the most important person in my life. How could I forget someone so important to me?" she said with tears in her eyes. Reioki quickly wiped them away and took a deep breath and let it go. The food came and was set on the table. Guy looked at her with concern.

"Listen, Reioki. The fact that you remembered it is the important thing. It's not like you remembered it days from now, it's still her day, you didn't miss it, and you didn't forget it. It's still here. That is what happens when you have a lot going on in your life. You're working, and training, and living in a new place, and trying to get use to living this new lifestyle. That's a lot to do. I know your mother is looking upon you right now and smiling. So, don't feel bad." he told her. Reioki smiled at him.

"I am glad you found me. Thank you for your kind words. You really are a good friend." She told him. He picked up his chopsticks.

"Your welcome, Reioki. You're a good friend too. Now, lets eat before our food gets cold." he told her with a big smile.

After they ate, they started to walk back towards her home. Guy looked at Reioki out of the corner of his eye as they walked.

"Just to let you know, after you are done training with Kakashi, if you would like, I could teach you taijutsu. I'm an expert at it. Right now, I'm training one of my pupil's how to use taijutsu alone. He has no ninjutsu or genjutsu skills at all. I have to say he is quite remarkable. Not just because of my training, but because of his perseverance as well. That Lee," He said with a proud look on his face.", "He is something else." he told her with a gleam in his eye. Reioki smiled as she listened to him.

"Guy? This Lee... He has no ninjutsu or genjutsu skills?" she asked. Guy looked to the sky, smiling.

"Lee is special. He was the only kid to graduate the academy without ninjutsu or genjutsu. He wanted to become a splendid ninja with using nothing but taijutsu." He explained to her. Reioki nodded.

"That is something. I wish him all the best." She told him. Guy smiled at her.

They got to her home shortly after this conversation. They stopped at her front door.

"Well, here you are, Reioki. You're home. I hope you feel better. Don't worry about not thinking of your mother's birthday until late. At least you remembered it, and mothers are forgiving like that. I'm sure she is happy that you remembered it today no matter when it was during the day." He said as he smiled at her with his thumb up. Reioki shook her head and smiled.

"Yeah, your right. Again, thank you for your kind words, and for being there for me. Also for dinner. I really appreciate your kindness." She said as she was walking in the entrance.

"It was my pleasure, Reioki. See you around." He said as he took off.

Reioki walked into her room and looked around. She sat on her bed and thought. _Mom, I am sorry for not remembering your birthday until later. But, I did not forget you. I love you mommy. I wish you were here with me. If you were still alive, I think dad would be different. He has changed since you been gone. I hardly got to see him anymore. He will not show himself. Just his other selves. And they are so cold. I do not know. I had to leave. I could not take it anymore. Do you forgive me mom? Do you forgive me for leaving? I know dad meant everything to you. I know you loved him, but I couldn't stay anymore. Please forgive me._ She thought as a few tears came down her face. She rolled over on her bed, grabbed a pillow and hugged it. She thought of when she was younger and remembered her mother's birthday.

_"Mooommmyy! I have something for you!" said a 10-year-old Reioki as she walked down the hallway to her parent's room. She knocked on the door when she approached it. _

"_Come on in Reioki." Said her mother. Reioki came in through the door and saw her mother and father in a hug by the window. Her mother with her long silver spiraled curled hair with black streaks running through it, looked at her. Reioki ran to them and gave them both a hug. Her father, a bit taller than her mother with long, red hair, put his hand on her head. Reioki pulled away from them and handed her mother a small wrapped bundle. _

"_Here! Happy Birthday Mommy!" she said looking up at her mother with her big black with gold speckled eyes. Her mother took the gift and unwrapped it. She saw a small bracelet made from suede, glass beads and silver. Her mother looked at it and smiled as she looked at her daughter._

"_Reioki? Did you make this?" she asked. Reioki looked at her mother with concern._

"_Yes. Nana went and got some stuff for me. I found the silver in the catacombs by the lake when we went there. Do you like it?" she asked. Renai hugged her daughter with tears in her eyes._

"_It is beautiful! I love it! Thank you Reioki! You did such a wonderful job. I did not know you could make things like this. It is beautiful." She said. Renai pulled away from the hug and kissed her daughter on the cheek. She stood up and showed Reioki's father the bracelet. _

"_Nagato? Could you help me put it on?" she asked Reioki's father. He smiled at her._

"_Sure." he told her as he took the bracelet and put it on her wrist. He smiled at them as Renai turned around to face Reioki and touched the bracelet with her other hand. Her father looked at her with a smile._

"_Reioki. You did a beautiful job on that. I really like it myself." Her father told her. Reioki smiled._

"_Thank you daddy." she said to him. Reioki looked at her mom. _

"_I am glad you like it. So, what are we going to have for breakfast?" she asked. Nagato placed his hand on his daughter's head._

"_What ever your mother wants. It's her birthday." He told her as they started to walk out of the room._

Reioki smiled as she remembered this. She rolled over and sat up on her bed. Reioki got up and walked over to the window and looked out. She saw the stars, a partial moon and a few clouds in the nighttime sky. She stared at the sky for a little while, then walked back to the bed and sat down. _Hmmm. I need to practice tomorrow. I have to get this down. I know I can be good at this_. She thought. Reioki got up from the bed and walked over to her kitchen and got a glass of water. She walked over to the desk and pulled out the chair from it, and turned it around to face the room. She sat down and took a drink of her water_. I need to do something with this room. Maybe... get a hanging plant over there. That would be nice. It would add color to this room as well. Yeah. I think that is what I need to do. Plants. I love them. It will be so nice. It will not be as nice as the atrium at the rain village, but it will be nice._ She thought as she sat there and looked around. Reioki got up from the chair and put it back. She grabbed her book and lay on her bed. She read for about a half hour before she got tired and fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Reioki woke up to the birds chirping and the book over her face. She took the book off her face and noticed the sun shining. She stretched and got up off the bed. She walked to the window and opened it. She walked outside and looked around. She gave a smile as she took a deep breath of the morning air. <em>What a beautiful morning. I think I will have a cup of tea out here.<em> She thought to herself. Reioki walked inside, and went to her kitchen, and made herself a cup of tea, and walked back outside. She sat down against the wall to the house and drank her tea. _I do have to admit how beautiful it is here compared to the rain village. I love all the trees here. There are hardly any trees in the rain village. I guess that is why I love the place by the lake where my mom planted the tree that we always sat under. I also liked the catacombs. They were fun to play in. I like the echoes of the water flowing into the lake. Also when the birds would fly in and chirp. Heh... I liked it there. I have so many fun memories there. And, not so good too. There were many times they were scary too. I remember when my dad and I were down there and three shibobi came after us. Of course, my dad wiped them out with ease. But, It was still scary to see my dad get so angry. And to see those men lying there mangled. It was awful to see. I do remember my father comforting me and taking me home. The violence is something I do not miss_. She thought while drinking her tea.

Reioki sat there thinking for a while before she finished her tea and decided to get ready to train for the day. She got up, walked into her home and into the kitchen. She put her cup on the counter and went to her washroom and got ready to go.

When she was ready, she grabbed her backpack and walked out the door. She walked over to the memorial sight and walked up to the three stumps in the ground. She took off her backpack and took out her senbon and started to practice. She noticed she was doing better than yesterday and felt better about training. She practiced for about an hour before she took a break. She went over to the river and sat by it. She looked at the mountains across the way and smiled. They really are pretty. I really love this place. She thought as she sat there. _Itachi was truly is a peaceful way of life. I wish the rain village would be like this._ Reioki thought_. I wish the rain village had more trees too. It would be such a beautiful village with trees. It is so industrial. Yet, beautiful in it is own way. Not like here though. I could live here forever_. She continued to think. Reioki looked around and then decided to get up and practice again. She got up and went back over to the stumps again and started throwing the senbon. She did this for an hour longer until she felt hungry. She packed up her stuff in her backpack and headed for home. As she walked home, she saw an old flowerpot that some one had thrown away. She picked it up and saw that nothing was wrong with it, so she took it with her.

She stopped at the back of her home and dug up some dirt and put it into the old pot and brought it up stairs with her and brought it out to her balcony. She set it down on the floor by the railing that surrounded the balcony._ If there was a way to secure it to the railing, then I could put it there._ She thought to herself. _I wonder what to plant in this._ She thought again. She got up and went back inside. She went into the kitchen to wash her hands and then made herself something to eat and brought it outside with her to eat. She sat down against the house and ate her lunch. _Well, what seeds I find, that is what I will grow. Heh, It is what is meant to be will be... Mom. I still hear your words. I am glad._ She thought with a smile. When she was done eating, she got up and brought her dish to the sink, cleaned, dried it and put it away along with the tea cup from the morning. Reioki walked to the shelf and grabbed her new book. She looked at it and then put it back on the shelf_. I do not feel like reading. I think I am going to take a walk. Yeah. That is what I feel like doing_. She thought. Reioki walked out the door.

Reioki walked towards the shops in the center of the village. When she got there, she looked around and saw quite a few things she would have liked to buy, but didn't_. I need to save my money. I cannot just buy what I want right now. I do miss that. It did not matter what I wanted, I could get it when I was living at home. We had the money. Oh well_. She thought.

She walked towards a woodsy area that was so pretty. _This is nice. It is so pretty here. Looks like someone has been training here._ She thought as she looked at a few trees. There were kunai stuck in the tree with a carved in bulls eye. Reioki smiled as she saw this. _This looks familiar_. She thought to herself as she walked a bit further. A young boy with spiky blond hair started walking towards her.

"Hey lady! That's my training spot. Ha, ha. What do you think?" he asked with a big, goofy grin. Reioki smiled at him.

"I think you have done a pretty good job." Reioki replied. The boy with the spiky blond hair smiled.

"Well, I need to get better. I'm going to be the greatest ninja ever!" he told her with a big smile. Reioki gave a big smile back.

"Well, with that attitude, I believe it." she told him. He gave an even bigger smile with a little red on his face.

"Yeah! Believe it! I'm going to be Hokage someday!" he told her. Reioki tilted her head to the side a bit.

"I do believe it. You seem to be a strong boy. So, What shall I call you now before you become Hokage?" she asked him. He looked at her with a big smile.

"My name is Uzumaki, Naruto!" he told her. Reioki gave a big smile back.

"Well, Naruto, my name is Rikudo, Reioki. Pleased to meet you. I look forward to seeing you as the next Hokage." she told him. He looked at her with a confused look on his face.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked her. She looked to the sky and back down to him.

"I am just enjoying the beautiful day. I trained earlier and now, I just thought I would take a walk and enjoy the sunshine while it is out." she told him. Naruto shook his head.

"Ok lady. Well, I'm going to go back and train. See ya around." He told her as he enthusiastically ran to his training spot. Reioki smiled and gave a little laugh. _He is an ambitious young man. I see him going far_. She thought as she walked away from him.

She continued to walk a bit further until she found herself by a clearing. It was a grassy clearing that had many flowers all around. Reioki picked some and then gave a big smile_. I know what I am going to plant in my planter. Some of these._ She thought as she picked a few wild daisies and bluebells. She grabbed the roots and wrapped them with a chakra wrap she learned from her mom. It was like putting the roots in a bubble.

She walked back in the direction she came from. She passed Naruto and gave a wave as she walked by. He waved back and continued to train. She walked back by the shops and then walked back to her home. When she got inside her room, she walked right out to the balcony. She went over to the planter she found and planted her flowers she picked. She went inside and got some water and went back outside to water them. She gave them a bit of chakra to keep them from going into shock gave a big smile as she accomplished this. _Yay! My first flowers. They look so pretty. I like them. Now I need to find some more at another time_. She thought as she looked at them. She felt happy, and sat down on the balcony and looked to the sky. Reioki sighed. She kept smiling as she relaxed on the balcony looking back to the flowers. _Thank you mommy! Thank you for everything! I miss you. But I feel you are with me. I am sorry for yesterday. I hope you know you mean the world to me. I never meant to forget your birthday._ She thought to herself. Reioki sat there for a while before she went inside. She grabbed her book, and laid on her bed for a while and read.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next day was the about the same thing. Reioki got up and did some training and walked around for a while. She was feeling a bit better about handling and throwing the senbon. She wasn't very accurate, but she was getting better with it. At least she was getting more comfortable with them. She decided to treat herself to some dango at the teashop. As she went in, she noticed Takara sitting at one of the tables. She was drawing something and Reioki went over to say hi, and perhaps sneak a peek at what she was doing.

"Hello Takara. How are you today?" Reioki asked as she approached the table. Takara looked up at her with a flushed face as she covered up what she was drawing.

"Ahh, Hi,...Reioki, right?" she asked as she turned a little more red in the face. Reioki smiled at her.

"Yeah. So, what are you drawing?" she asked. Takara looked like she was going to freak out, with her eyes getting really big. Reioki looked shocked.

"Uhh, sorry. I did not mean to upset you. I was just wondering what you were drawing. If you do not want to show me, that is ok. I will understand." Said Reioki. Takara's face turned even more red (if possible), and looked down to the covered up drawing.

"Umm... Well...I'm sorry... I ...I Just don't like people seeing my drawings until they are done." she told her. Reioki nodded her head.

"That is fine. I do not have a problem with that. I did not know how you felt like about drawing. Umm, well, I just thought I would sit with you and talk, but ...if you are drawing... I will sit somewhere else." said Reioki. Takara put her drawing down by her side.

"No. That's fine. You can sit here. I don't mind. I can finish it later." Takara told her. Reioki smiled.

"Are you sure? I do not want to interrupt." Asked Reioki. Takara gave her a little glare and then smiled.

"I'm sure. What I'm drawing is better drawn in the outside light anyway." She told her. Reioki held up her hand with her pointer finger up.

"Ok. I have to get my order. Do you want anything?" she asked. Takara held up her cup of tea.

"Nah, I'm fine. Thanks." she answered. Reioki smiled and went to get her order. She said hi to Kashu and ordered her dango and tea. When she got it, she went and sat by Takara.

"So...How do you like Konoha so far?" Reioki asked as she was sitting down. Takara looked at her.

"Alright, I suppose. I'm use to a different environment." she replied. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yeah, I am use to a different environment as well, but I love it here. It is so green and pretty here." Reioki explained. Takara smiled back.

"Yeah. It defiantly is pretty... and green" Takara said as Reioki took a bite of her dango.

"Where I am from, there are hardly any trees at all. My mom planted one by the lake, but that seems to be the only one, that I have seen anyway." She said. Takara gave Reioki a funny look.

"You... live by a lake, but don't have any trees? That's weird." She said. Reioki had a sad look on her face.

"Yeah. It is mostly stone and buildings. There are trees on the outskirts of the village, but not in the village itself. Catacombs surround the lake, so it is all rock. Or, from what I saw of it anyway. There are inlets off the lake that may have trees and grass, but I have not seen them. That is just a guess. Though, I do know that once you get away from the village, it becomes grassy." She said with a smile. Takara gave another strange look.

"What. Did you live in a bubble? How do you not know what you have in your own village?" she asked. Reioki looked to the table and then looked back to Takara. She grabbed her tea and took a drink. Reioki was thinking that she might have said too much. Takara must have noticed, for her face changed, and became red in the face again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I was just asking a question. You don't have to answer if you don't feel comfortable answering." She said. Reioki looked back to her and gave a weak smile.

"You did not offend me. It is just,... Well,... I guess I have lived in a bubble." she said. Takara looked at her with a sad look.

"Oh. I see. This must be like total freedom to you then... being here." She said. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yeah. It is more freedom than I have ever had. I enjoy it, but at the same time, I sometimes do not know what to do. Like when I left, I thought, I thought everything out, but there was a lot I miscalculated, because of my lack of experience. I am just grateful I ended up here." she answered. Takara gave a small laugh.

"Heh, You got a lot to learn. It isn't always easy." she told her. Reioki gave a small laugh.

"Yeah. I figured that part out. But, it is a learning experience. Living on my own and being out in the world, without protection, is something I have been sheltered from. But... I am learning." She said. Takara gave a smile and her face turned a little pink.

"Well, you seem to be a smart girl. I think you will be fine." She said. Reioki gave a smile back.

"Well, I think the same way. I believe I will be all right. I am a fast learner. I had to learn this sometime in my life. So, I am glad it is now." she said with a grin. Takara gave a smile back.

"You're alright. You got a good attitude about life. That can take you far." She said. Reioki nodded her head.

"My mom use to say, "Stay positive. Even with a negative situation. There is always a positive in the negative. You just have to find it." She was always good with stuff like that." she told her. Takara looked at her with an unsure look.

"Yeah. That's one way to look at things... I guess.. that isn't a bad way to look at things the more I think about it." she said. Reioki looked to the ceiling and then back to Takara.

"That is what I was taught. "Everything happens for a reason." is another philosophy I live by. I truly believe that. What that reason is may not show its meaning right away, but it will show eventually. I have experienced that over and over again. Even in the bubble." Reioki explained with a little laugh. Takara smiled as she explained this. Reioki finished her dango and tea as she talked to Takara. Reioki grabbed the dishes and took them to the counter. She smiled at Kashu and walked back to the table. Takara looked at her.

"You know you may be at work, but you're not on the clock." She said with a smile. Reioki gave a little laugh.

"Heh, I know. I just like to be helpful. He is a nice guy." She told her. Takara smiled.

"I see that." She said. Reioki got up from the table.

"Well, I am going to go for a walk. I hate just sitting around when it is day light." Reioki said. Takara looked up at her.

"Umm, Ok. I think I'm going to go to the river and finish drawing." She said.

"Ok, If you do not mind, I will walk with you." she said. Takara picked up her drawing and stood up.

"Aahh, yeah. That is fine." She answered.

They both walked to the door and walked out. They headed down the street towards the river. Reioki looked at Takara out of the corner of her eye.

"If you do not mind me asking, but I was wondering, what it is like where you are from? I mean, if you do not want to tell me, I will understand. I just have not been anywhere except the rain village. I do not know much of anywhere, but here and there." she explained. Takara looked to the sky and then forward again.

"Well,... I guess you could say,... it's sandy. We don't have trees, unless they are in the green house. And we have an oasis for water in the center of our village." she explained. Reioki smiled.

"Wow. Such a difference in countries. It is amazing how much difference there is in such a little distance from each other. I mean I know they are not close, but they are not like they are across the world from each other. I do not know. I assume you are talking about the sand village. That is what it sounds like to me anyway. She said. Takara nodded her head.

"Uhh, yeah." she said. Reioki looked at her.

"Thanks for telling me. One of these days, I will have to go see it for myself. I think that sounds awesome. Yeah. Someday." she said dreamily. Takara just gave a small laugh.

When they got to the river, Reioki sat by it and took off her shoes. Takara went and sat under a tree and took out her drawing and started to draw. Reioki put her feet in the water and looked at the mountains across the way. Reioki thought about going to work tomorrow and meeting up with Kakashi to show him her progress_. I wonder what he is like, besides always being late. He seems to be a really nice guy. Even though he wears a mask, he is kinda cute. I wonder what he looks like with out it._ She thought. Reioki looked to the sky and watched the clouds that were floating by. She lay down on the bank of the river and started to count the birds that flew by. As she counted, she remembered when she was in the catacombs with her mother and sticking their feet in the lake and splashed each other. Reioki smiled as she remembered this. She sat up again and looked over at Takara who was still drawing peacefully. Reioki took her feet out of the water and let them air dry. About 10 minutes later, she put on her shoes and stood up. She stretched her arms to the sky and bought them back down to her sides. Reioki walked along the bank of the river a few feet and then stopped. She looked at the water flowing down the river. A gentle breeze blew her hair into her face. She took her hand and brushed her hair away from her face and smiled_. I do miss the sound of running water all the time. You could hear it from my room in the rain village. It was such a peaceful sound_. She thought as she watched the river flow_. The sound from the river is peaceful. I like it._ She thought again. Then she turned to walk towards the memorial. As she did this, she noticed a man standing there. Reioki walked over to the memorial and stood quietly off to the side of the man. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and noticed that he was a leaf shinobi. He was a little bit taller than her with brown hair in a small ponytail. Then she looked at the memorial.

"Nice day today. Isn't it?" he asked. Reioki turned her head towards him.

"Yeah. It is. My friend and I like coming here. It is so peaceful." She told him. He looked at her.

"My name is Umino, Iruka. Pleased to meet you." he said with a smile. Reioki smiled back.

"Iruka. Well, well. I finally meet you. My name is Rikudo, Reioki. When I first came here to Konoha, I went to the library to look up something on Konoha. The librarian told me to talk to you at the academy. You were not there, but the third Hokage was. He told me a lot about this place." she told him. Iruka smiled at her and turned a bit pink in the face.

"Oh. Heh, well,.. I'm sorry I missed you. I could still answer questions if you would like?" he told her with squinted eyes and a smile. Reioki gave a small laugh.

"Heh, if I think of any, I will ask you. Right now, I can not think of anything to ask." she said to him. Reioki looked back to the memorial.

"Well, if you want to ask anything, I can be found at the academy. Most of the time I am teaching the young, so they can graduate from the academy to become great ninja." he told her. Reioki nodded her head.

"Thank you. I appreciate that." She told him. Iruka looked back to the memorial.

"So, did you know someone who died in battle?" he asked. Reioki kept looking at the memorial.

"I guess you could say that. My mother was out on a recon medical mission when she died. I do not remember too much about it. I just know I miss her very much. So, what about you?" she said. Iruka kept looking at the memorial as well.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Both my parents died protecting this village when the nine tailed fox attacked." he told her. Reioki looked sad.

"I am sorry to hear that. I know what it is like to loose a parent, but not both. I still have a dad." she replied. Iruka looked at her with a smile.

"Well, I'm ok with it now. I do miss them, but I know I'm never alone." he said with a smile on his face. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yeah. Someone said that to me before." she said looking over at him. Just then they both heard a sound.

"Ahem." said the soft voice of Takara. Reioki and Iruka turned to face her. Reioki gave her a big smile.

"Are you done with your drawing?" she asked. Takara turned red in the face.

"Ahh, Yeah. It's done." She said. Reioki had a little bounce of excitement.

"Well? Can I see it?" she said with excitement. Takara became even redder in the face.

"Umm, Sure." she said as she turned the drawing towards her. It was a beautiful picture of a waterfall and a river surrounded by wilderness. Reioki gasped.

"Takara! That is beautiful! Oh my goodness! I love it!" Reioki said with joy. Takara was still red in the face but smiled.

"Yeah, Thanks. I'm glad you like it." said Takara. Reioki noticed Iruka looking at the picture as well.

"Oh! I am sorry! Takara, this is Umino,Iruka. Iruka, this is my friend Yohsida, Takara." Reioki Introduced. Iruka looked at Takara.

"Your drawing is great. I really like it. You really do a great job drawing." He said with his face turning a little pink. Reioki smiled and so did Takara.

"Umm, Thanks." she said turning pink in the face as well. Reioki looked at the sky and then back to Takara and Iruka.

"Hey. Listen. I have to go. Takara, I will talk to you later, unless you feel like walking with me. Iruka. It was nice meeting you. If I think of any questions, I will come and see you at the academy. Ok?" she said. Iruka smiled and nodded his head.

"Yeah. It was nice meeting you too. You do that." He told her as she started to walk away. Takara started to walk with Reioki.

"Um Yeah. It was nice to meet you." Takara said to him as she was walking away. Iruka smiled at her.

"Yeah. Nice meeting you as well. If there is anything you need, just let me know. You can see me at the academy. Ok?" he said with his face turning pinker. Takara smiled at him.

"Umm, Ok. Thanks." she replied as her face turned red. She caught up to Reioki and smiled.

"What was that about back there? I'll talk to you later, unless you feel like walking with me?" Takara asked as she caught up with her. Reioki smiled at her.

"Well... It looked like to me that you liked him. So... I thought I would give you the chance to talk to him by yourself, if you wanted. But if you did not... I gave you an opportunity to have a way out. I was not going to just leave you hanging there in a situation if you did not want it." she explained. Takara turned a little pink.

"Oh. I see. Well, what if your wrong about me liking him?" she asked. Reioki smiled and looked forward.

"Well, then I am wrong. It was just my observation. He is really nice and cute. That is also my opinion." she replied. Takara turned a little pink.

"Heh, I guess you right in saying he is nice...and cute." she said. Reioki gave a little laugh.

Reioki and Takara walked by the shops on their way back from the river. Reioki was starting to feel hungry and looked around.

"Takara? Are you getting hungry?" Reioki asked. Takara looked at her.

"Uh, Yeah. I could eat." She answered. Reioki patted her stomach.

"Do you want to get something to eat? I know of a good place around the corner." She asked. Takara smiled.

"Sure." she said. They walked around the corner and went into the diner. They ordered their food and sat at a table.

"This place has really good food. I like it better than the place my friend took me last night. Though that place was not bad. I just like the food here much better." she told Takara. Just then the man from behind the counter brought them their tea and set it on the table.

"Wow. That was fast." Takara said. Reioki nodded her head. They both picked up their cups and drank their tea.

"The tea is not bad here either. That is the one thing I can say for the other place is that their tea was weak. Maybe it was just that night, but I did not care for it." Reioki said. Takara looked at her.

"I think the tea is best where you work." she said. Reioki gave a smile.

"Thank you! I am glad to hear that. Kashu-sama does a good job. Though, I did have to teach him about jasmine tea. Now he makes a great jasmine tea." She told her. Takara tilted her head to the side.

"How do you know so much about tea?" she asked. Reioki smiled.

"My mom. She taught me everything I know about plants, and herbs, and their purposes. What makes a great tea, what heals, what can poison, what can detoxify, antidotes. All of that kind of stuff. She was the chief medic in our village, and ran the hospital there." Reioki explained.

"Ahh, I see. That would make sense. So, why didn't you go into the medical profession?" Takara asked. Reioki scrunched her face a bit and then answered.

"Well, from what I understand. To work in a medical building, you have to have graduated from an academy. I never attended an academy. There for, I doubt anyone would have me work in a hospital. I know how to heal. I am very good at it. I have been healing people since I was 8 years old. I learned from the best, and my mother ran the hospital as well. I am sure if I decided to stay in the rain village, I could of taken over my mother's position, but it was hard to go into the hospital with out my mother around. It made me sad every time I went in there. I expected to see her walk down the halls or see her in her office and when I would go in there, I was reminded that she was gone. I did not like going there." she explained. Takara had a questioned look on her face.

"W-What happened to your mom?" she asked as her face turned pink. Reioki looked sad and looked down to the table then looked up as the man from behind the counter brought them their food. Reioki picked up her chopsticks and then looked at Takara.

"From what I was told, we went out on a mission and our platoon was attacked. I was 12 years old and the only survivor. I do not remember anything except for waking up in my room. My father was on his way out of the room when I woke up. He turned around when I called out to him. The weird thing was, he was happy to see me wake up, and he hugged me, but he was shaking and I felt this anger flowing thru him. No. I would say hatred. It was a scary thing. Anyway, He did not tell me what had happened till a few days after I woke up. I was shocked, and I started to cry, and almost hyperventilated. I felt like I was going to black out. My father, the way he acted made me feel he thought it was my fault my mother had died. Then I guess he realized what he did and apologized to me and hugged me... I am sorry. I am rambling. It is just that I have not talked to anyone about this before." She explained. Takara looked sad.

"Well, I feel honored you feel you can talk to me about this. I'm sorry for your loss. I lost both my parents too on a mission. The village doesn't know what happened, or why they were killed, so I'm left in the dark about their deaths. Kinda like you." she told her. Reioki looked sad.

"I am sorry for you losses. I know how you feel." she told her. Takara picked up her chopsticks.

"Yeah. I would say you do." She said as she started to eat. Reioki started to eat, and drank some tea.

"You know, there are a lot of times I want to remember what happened to my mother, but our head medic, my mothers right hand healer, got mad at my father for telling me what happened. Heru told my father that I needed to remember on my own. That it was not healthy to tell me what had happened to my mother. That it could of put me back in shock. My father was angry at him, but did not do anything." Reioki said. Takara tilted her head to the side a bit.

"Well, I think your father was right in telling you what happened to your mother." she said. Reioki gave a small smile.

"Hmm. There are consequences to that. Like Heru said, it could have put me back in shock. But also, Now that I do know what happened, I may never remember what happened that awful day. It may be trapped in my subconscious for the rest of my life." She said. Takara looked at her.

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked. Reioki looked a bit confused.

"Well, that is something I am not really sure about. I know the mind is an awesome piece of machinery of the human body. It might have damaging affects to the brain later on in life. I am not sure just how yet, but it is something I will look into. I just know that the mind will let you remember when you are ready to handle the truth. But that does not keep me from wanting to know the truth." Reioki explained.

"Wow. Well, I'm glad you didn't go into shock after learning about your mother. That would of been awful." Takara said. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yeah, me too. I think it would have killed my father knowing that he did it to me. Actually, I think the entire incident killed my father. Emotionally that is. I hardly saw him much after that. And when I did, he was not as warm as he use to be. I mean, he hugged me, but I am the one who would have to go to him and hug him. He would hug me back, but not like he use to. I do not know. It is hard to explain. All I know is that it is one of the many reasons I left." she explained. Takara gave a little smile.

"We have a lot in common. I left for similar reasons. Both my parents died because of the sand village, in my opinion, they couldn't tell me the circumstances of why they were killed, so I left." she said. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yeah, I can understand that." she said.

They finished up their meal and left the diner. They walked about two blocks when Takara stopped.

"Well, this is where I turn to go home. I just live two blocks that way." Takara said. Reioki smiled.

"We do not live that far from each other. I live a block down this way." she said. "I live on the second level of the brown building." said Reioki. Takara smiled.

"Huh. I live on the first level in the tan building." she said. Reioki gave a samll laugh.

"Well, I am glad we only live a short distance away. I think that is cool. Well, I have to train tomorrow with Kakashi, so maybe we could do something Tuesday. If your not busy?" Reioki asked. Takara looked off to the side and then back to her.

"I don't think I am doing anything on Tuesday, so yeah. That sounds fine." She said. Reioki smiled.

"Cool. See you Tuesday after I get off work at 3pm." she said as they parted ways.

"Yep! Sound good to me." Takara said as she left.

Reioki walked into her home and laid down on her bed. She thought about her conversation with Takara_. I wonder what happened that day with my mom. Who killed her and why. If I could remember, then maybe my father would not be so mad at me. I would not be such a failure of a daughter to him. Oh well. I cannot remember. Besides. I am dead to him now since I left the village. Maybe I should not want to remember that awful day. _She thought. She got up and walked over to the shelf and grabbed her book and read for a bit. Then she put the book down and set her alarm. Reioki got up, and put the book back on the shelf, and went into the washroom and got ready for bed. She crawled into the nice warm covers, and went into a sound slumber.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Reioki went to work in the morning, like she always did. She greeted Kashu and went straight to making tea. Reioki liked working at the teashop. She felt comfortable doing this. Making the dango however was an experience. It was something she had never made before. But she was getting better at it.

"Kashu? Am I making the dango right?" she asked. Kashu looked over to her.

"You're doing just fine. You are making it much better than when you first started." He reassured her. Reioki smiled.

"I am glad to hear that. I thought I was getting better, but then I was not sure." She had told him. Kashu gave a small laugh as he went back to work. Reioki went to the front counter and started taking orders and making tea and dango for people. It was a busy morning.

Around 10 am, it slowed down and Reioki took a break. She got herself a cup of tea and sat down by the doorway. She liked this spot the best in the shop. A light breeze came in as she sat there. She smiled as the breeze blew her hair a bit and brushed against her face.

Fifteen minutes later, she got up and went back to work. She cleared off some tables and brought the dishes back to the sink. She saw that they were starting to pile up, so she started to wash them. Kashu came by and thanked her. She nodded her head and continued to do the dishes. When they were all cleaned, Kashu came over and dried them and put them away. Reioki then walked to the front counter and started to take orders again. It was about 11:30 am and the shop was starting to get busy again.

The next thing she knew it was 2:45pm. She saw Kakashi come in the shop and wave. She gave him a smile and walked over to him.

"Woah! Your only 15 minutes late! I am impressed. Do you want anything while you wait?" she said with a small laugh. Kakashi shook his head.

"Na. I'm ok. But thanks." He replied. She gave him another smile.

"Ok. I will be done here in about 15 minutes." She told him as she walked away. Kakashi nodded his head as he pulled out his book and started to read.

At 3:00pm, Reioki walked over to Kakashi's table and sat down.

"I take it that you are ready to go?" he asked her still reading his book. Reioki tilted her head slightly and looked at the book he was reading.

"Make out... Paradise, hmmm. Is that any good?" she asked him with a scrunched up face.

"Yeah. I think they are a great series." He told her from behind the book. She brought her head to strait up again.

"Oh.. What are they about?" she asked. Kakashi didn't look at her and kept the book to his face.

"Ahh, well... they are about... Adventure, romance, and mystery all in one." he explained to her. Reioki smiled.

"Oh... sound interesting. Maybe I will read it some day." She said. Kakashi put the book away and looked at her.

"Ahh, yeah. You ready to go?" he asked her. She looked at him and nodded her head.

"Yup! Ready to go." she answered with enthusiasm. They got up from the table and walked out the door.

When they reached their training area, She took out the senbon and showed him how she was doing.

"I see you have gotten better with throwing them." he told her. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yeah, but I am still not good at them. I can at least hit the stump with most of them. Kakashi gave her a smile threw the mask he wore.

"Well, are you feeling comfortable with throwing them?" he asked. She looked at him with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well, I guess you could say that I am, but then again I would say that I am not. I mean, I can throw them and hit the stump, but not where I would like them to go." she said. Kakashi gave her another smile.

"Ahh, I see. That will come in time. Right now, I want you to feel comfortable with throwing them. To me you look comfortable because of the way you throw them and the fact that you can hit the stump when you throw them. It seems to me that you are in the general area of where you want them to hit." he explained. Reioki nodded her head.

"Well then, I would have to say yes. I am comfortable with throwing them." She told him. He nodded his head.

"Good. Now, like before, let's focus your chakra to senbon as you throw them. See your target and then focus your chakra to the senbon. Then let the chakra guide them as you throw them." He explained to her. Reioki did as she was told and threw them. She noticed how much better the senbon flew, but still didn't hit the target where she wanted them to hit.

"Well, they flew better, but that is all I can see from that." she told him. He nodded his head again.

"Good. That's what you want. I want you to practice throwing them just like that. Once you have that down, you should be able to start hitting the mark about 25 percent of the time." He told her. She dropped her head to the ground while still looking at him with her eyes.

"You have got to be kidding me." She said. He looked at her with a bit of surprise on his face.

"What? You don't like that percentage? I thought you would be happy with that." He told her. Reioki looked up at him and sighed.

"Fine! 25 percent is the start. I thought it would be a bit more that that, but 25 percent it will be. Ok. I can do this." She told him. He gave her a smile and sat down by the tree and pulled out his book again and began to read. Reioki began to practice throwing the senbon focusing her chakra to them. She like the way she threw them with the chakra. She noticed how much easier it was to throw them too and how much smoother they flew_. I can actually see how adding chakra to them makes a difference. This will defiantly help with the accuracy of throwing them._ She thought to her self while throwing them. She kept practicing until Kakashi approached her.

"Well. You are defiantly improving. I would say you are hitting the target about 50 percent of the time. Much better than I thought. I underestimated you." He told her. Reioki gave him a smile.

"Your not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?" She asked. He looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"If I did that, would you learn any faster?" he asked. She thought about this for a few seconds.

"I am not really sure." She told him. He gave her a smile.

"At least you're honest. Let's take a break. You deserve it. You have been at it for over an hour now." he told her. Reioki looked surprised.

"Really? It did not seem that long." She said with shock in her voice. Kakashi put his hand on her shoulder and gestured with the other one to move as they walked over to the tree where he was sitting and reading while she was practicing. They sat down under the tree and talked.

"You pick things up pretty quickly. That's impressive." He told her. She gave him a smile.

"Thanks. I try my best to learn. I like learning. It is fun when you get it. But I do get impatient when it does not come quickly. I am sorry about that." She told him. He gave her a small laugh.

"I noticed that. You just have to understand that even though you learn quickly, something's are not meant to be rushed, like accuracy. You need to feel it to get it right. That is why I am teaching you in little steps. To understand it and feel it, that way you will be great at it." He explained to her. Reioki tilted her head a bit.

"Thank you. I completely understand what you are talking about. I was just noticing how I felt the difference in throwing them with the chakra and how it was helping me guide them better. I liked seeing the difference." She told him. Kakashi smiled at her.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked her as they sat there under the tree. Reioki looked at him.

"Sure. What is it that you want to know?" she asked. He raised his hand to the top of his head and scratched it.

"Well, I was wondering, for someone as smart as you are, why you never learned any of this stuff before? Especially since your village is in a civil war." He asked as he put his hand down. Reioki looked up to the sky and then back to him as she spoke.

"Well, it is kinda like this. My mother was a pacifist and did not believe in hurting people. Healing them was her main concern. I was raised the same way. I believe in healing not hurting. I believe that my father believed in protecting our beliefs, and us, so he never pushed me into learning how to protect myself. Well, he did teach me a few things, but nothing that would hurt anyone. That is what I believe. I never asked my parents why." She explained. Kakashi nodded his head.

"I see. So then why did you leave your village?" he asked. Reioki got a frown on her face as she looked to the ground. Then she looked at him.

"Well, like I said, my father was protective. Especially after my mother died. I was not allowed to go anywhere or do anything. I did have a guard for about a year and a half. In that time, I got to do things and had a life, but then he had to leave and I was stuck back in the house and not being able to go anywhere or do anything,.. Again. So, I decided to venture out on my own and to try and find a more peaceful way of life. I knew there places where war was not going on. Where people were not afraid to walk the streets to do anything or go anywhere. It just became hard for me to know that half the people keep fighting all the time and the other half being hurt from it all. Also, being the daughter of a Rebellion leader also puts your life in danger all the time. I was tired of it." She explained. Kakashi nodded his head.

"War is hard on everyone. I know what it is like to live threw war. I've seen many battles and have seen many of the people I loved and cared about die before my eyes. It's not easy. I can understand why you left." he told her. Reioki gave him a smile.

"So, what happened to your mother?" he asked her. Reioki put her hand to her to her mouth and bit her knuckle as she looked away. Kakashi noticed she became uncomfortable.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He said to her. She looked at him as she removed her knuckle from her mouth.

"My mother died when I was 12. I was there when she died, so I was told. I do not remember anything that had happened. I guess I blocked it out of my memory." she told him. Kakashi looked sad as she told him this.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He told her. Reioki put a smile on her face and looked to the sky again.

"My mother use to tell me, everything happens for a reason. I would like to remember what happened, so I can figure out what the reason would be for my mother dying. But, as of now, I am left in the dark." she said as she looked at him. She continued to talk.

"I miss her, but I will always try and remember what she taught me. She was so kind and caring and for the life of me cannot seem to find the positive in her death." Reioki told him. Kakashi looked a bit shocked at this.

"What would be positive in someone dying?" he asked. Reioki looked at him and gave him a small smile.

"Well, my mother use to tell me, for everything that happens, you have to look at the positive in it. Even the negative things have a positive; you just have to find it. It may not show right away, but it will show eventually." she told him. Kakashi looked at her and smiled.

"Your mother sounded liked a wonderful person." he told her. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yeah. She was." she said. Kakashi got to his feet.

"Well, would you like to train for a bit longer before the sun goes down?" he asked. Reioki got to her feet and nodded her head.

"Yeah. That sounds good." She told him.

She trained for about a half hour longer and then she stopped. Kakashi looked at her and smiled.

"You are doing a great job. I know you will have this down soon." he told her. Reioki gave him a smile.

"I hope so. I feel pretty good about it." She told him.

They started to walk away from the training area together as the sun set.

"I think I will walk you home. If you don't mind." He told her. Reioki smiled.

"No. I do not mind. I like the company." she told him as she gave him a big smile. He gave a little laugh. As they walked, Reioki looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Umm, can I ask you a question?" she asked. Kakashi looked at her.

"Sure. What is it?" he asked. Reioki looked at him as the walked.

"Well, I was noticing that you wear your headband over one eye. Why is that?" she asked. Kakashi looked forward as he answered.

"When I was younger, my eye was damaged, so as a gift from my dying friend, he gave me his eye." he told her. Reioki looked confused.

"So... why do you keep it covered?" she asked. He looked at her and smiled.

"My friend was an Uchiha. They have a special doujutsu called the sharingan. When he was dying, his sharingan was activated and was transplanted into my eye that way. I can't deactivate it. There for I need to keep it covered." he explained. Reioki gave a smirk to this answer.

"Heh, that explains it. I was wondering about that. So I had to ask. Thanks for telling me." She told him. He nodded his head.

"Umm, I was wondering, what damaged your real eye?" she asked. He glanced over to her and then looked forward again.

"Well, we were on a mission and I was leading my squad for the first time when our friend and only medic ninja was captured. My friend and I were rescuing her when my eye was slashed and then became permanently damaged by being hit." he explained. Reioki nodded her head.

"Wow. You were leading your squad for the first time when this happened? How long ago was this?"she asked.

"Well, I became a Jonin when I was 12, so about 14 years ago." he answered. Reioki nodded her head.

"Really? That seems young to be leading a squad. She replied with a bit of shock.

"So, do you know how to use it? The sharingan?" She asked. He nodded his head.

"Well, I was a bit advanced at that age. And yeah, I do." he answered. Reioki smiled.

"That was a nice gift he gave you. I hear the sharingan is a powerful dojutsu." She said. Kakashi glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as they walked.

"It was the best gift anyone could of given me." He told her as they arrived at her door. Reioki faced him as they stopped.

"Well, thank you for walking me home. So, when shall we meet again?" she asked. Kakashi put his had to his head and scratched it.

Well, lets see. I have a mission I have to take my students on, so it will have to be in a few days. How about on Thursday, at the same time?" he asked. Reioki nodded her head.

"Ok. Thursday it is. I will meet you at the shop at 2:30pm!" she said. Kakashi gave her a smile and waved as he took off.

Reioki walked into her home and turned on the light. She realized how hungry she was and walked to the kitchen. She looked at what she had and made her self something to eat. _He is really a nice guy. Not bad looking either. And wow. I cannot believe he has a sharingan eye. Itachi and now Kakashi. Heh, I guess I like guys with crazy eyes. Well, not that I like Kakashi like that. But it would make sense. I have some crazy eyes myself. Though my eyes are not as powerful as the sharingan. I have seen what Itachi can do with his eyes. They were pretty wicked. Mine can only see threw flesh and see microscopic things in the body. Well, I can also see color to chakra and see the network. That works for me. I do not know what else the sharingan eye can do. I know Itachi made people collapse form them though. When I would check out the collapsed shinobi, they would be alive. I am glad about that. I know he can kill someone with them. He use to make the comment when I checked them out that he did not kill them. I am just glad he did not. That would be sad. Come to think of it, Itachi never killed anyone around me. Though I know he could of. _She thought as she ate. Reioki finished her dinner and took the plate to the sink and washed, dried and put it away. She went over to the window and looked out. She looked at the nighttime sky with no clouds in it. She climbed out the sliding window on to the balcony and looked at the moon that was out. It cast an eerie light on the village below as she looked around. It reminded her of that night out in the rain village.

_ Reioki and Itachi had just watched the sun set by the lake sitting under the tree her mother had planted. Itachi had his arm around her as she sat next to him with her head on his shoulder. _

"_We need to go back. Your father will be getting worried if your not back soon. Being out at night is dangerous here." He told her. Reioki just sighed as he said this. _

"_Yeah. I know. ….Well, You are with me. Why would he be worried if you are with me? I know it is dangerous being out a night, but what if we went and got a cup of tea first and then went home. I do not feel like going home right now." She told him. Itachi looked up to the dusk sky and shook his head. Then he looked at her. Reioki looked into his dark eyes with sadness in hers as he looked at her. He gave her a little smile._

"_We better hurry if you want to get tea." He told her as he kissed her. Reioki kissed him back and smiled as they got up._

"_Oh! Thank you!" she said excitedly. _

_ They walked to the teashop and ordered tea for the both of them. They sat at the table and talked as they drank it. _

"_I am really glad we came here. I really did not feel like going home." She told him. Itachi nodded his head._

"_I could tell. That's why I brought you here." He told her. Reioki smiled at him. _

"_You know, I think my mom could have done something about that scar that guy had on his face we saw earlier. I need to look into that. I should be able to come up with something for him. I hope." She told him. Itachi gave a small smile. _

"_I believe you can." He told her. She nodded her head and gave him a smirk. _

"_Thanks for the confidence. I hope your right." She told him as she drank her tea. Itachi looked outside and looked uncomfortable. _

"_We need to go." He told her. Reioki didn't question him and got up from the table. Itachi grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. _

"_Stay right by me.'" He told her as they walked out the door. Reioki looked around quickly before they were confronted by 6 shinobi. Itachi pulled her into him with her face into his chest as they approached. _

"_Whacha got there?" One of them said. Itachi stood quietly as another one spoke._

"_I think it's a girl. What do you think?" said another one. The next thing she heard was a few of the shinobi falling to the ground._

"_What the.. Hey!. I'm going to get you for that!" said a few of the others. A few moments later, all she heard was the beating of Itachi's heart. She then started to pull herself away to look at the situation. Itachi took his hand and placed it under her chin. _

"_I didn't kill anyone." He told her and then kissed her. She gave him a small smile. _

"_I really should check on them. They may need medical attention." She said with concern. Itachi tensed up as she was speaking and scanned the area._

"_No time for that. We need to go." He said as he picked her up and carried her. She gave a big sigh as she placed her arms around his neck and placed her head on his shoulder deciding not to argue. Then she felt the wind against her face as they left the area, like they were flying. She just held on to him and listened to the sound of feet hitting branches and the soft wind blowing by as they were traveling. Minutes later, she felt them land and felt the ground beneath her feet again as he set her down. She looked around and saw she was by her home. Reioki looked up at him._

"_What happened back there?" she asked. Itachi gave her a hug and kissed her. He looked into her black and gold speckled eyes._

"_Don't worry about it. It's over with." He told her calmly. Reioki nodded her head. _

"_Are they ok? You did not move and they all went silent." She asked a bit concerned. Itachi just smirked at her._

"_It's one of the abilities of the sharingan. It's a strong genjutsu that knocked them out. I'm sure they will be fine. They had reinforcements on the way. I'm sure they took care of them." He reassured her. She bit her bottom lip slightly thinking about what he told her, then smiled at him as she touched his face. He brought his hand up to hers and took it in his. _

"_You should be going in now." He told her. Reioki pouted as he said this. Then she got a smile on her face. _

"_Fine, but I want you to come in with me. I have something I want to show you." She said to him. Itachi looked concerned._

"_What is it?" he asked. Reioki took his hand and led him inside. As they walked in, a lady with shoulder length blue hair, dressed in a black cloak with red clouds on it appeared. _

"_Where do you think you are going?" she asked with concern. Reioki looked at her with a smile. _

"_Hi Konan. I am going to show Itachi the atrium. There is a plant I want to show him." She told her. Konan looked at her suspiciously. _

"_You are welcome to come with us if you want." she continued to say. Konan just shook her head with concern. _

"_Don't be to long. I'll let your father know your home." She said as she disappeared. Reioki took Itachi by the hand and led him up a few stairs in a curved stairwell that led to a corridor that opened up to an entrance to the atrium. She turned on the lights as they walked in and Itachi's eyes widened. _

"_I can't believe how big this place is. There must be a thousand plants in here." he said with shock. Reioki gave him a smile as she walked him threw the atrium. They stopped at the pond that was in the middle of the atrium. _

"_This is my favorite place to be in my house." She told him. He looked around as she said this._

"_I can see why." He said still looking around. Reioki let go of his hand and sat down by the pond then looked at him. Itachi looked down at her and then sat down next to her. _

"_My father had this built for my mother. She put her heart into planting every plant in here. She did everything in here. I helped her with some of it. Like this one here. It is called a peace lily. They are not found around here. My mom brought it home one day and I asked if I could plant it, so she let me. This is where I chose to plant it." She explained to him. _

"_How does everything get watered in here?" he asked. Reioki smiled._

"_Well, My father knows how to make it rain. He taught my mother how and now, Nana and I come in and water with the hose when I cannot find my father to do it." She told him. Itachi looked at her and smiled. _

"_Thank you for showing me this. It's beautiful." He told her. Reioki leaned into him and kissed him. _

"_I am glad to be able to show you." She told him._

Reioki smiled as she remembered this. She looked at the moon again for a few seconds and then walked into her home. She grabbed her book, went and lay on her bed and began to read to fill the rest of the night.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Working at the teashop was, for most of the time, fun. Reioki greeted Kashu as she walked in and put her backpack behind the counter. She walked to the back and began to prepare tea for the morning rush. It was a busy morning and made the time fly by. The next thing she knew, she was taking her break around 10:45am. As usual, when she was done with her break, she cleared off the tables and, brought the dishes to the back by the sink. Kashu was washing the dishes when she got there.

"Busy morning. That is a good thing." Reioki said to him. Kashu gave her a smile.

"Yeah, it is. I should be looking for someone else to work here to help us. We are going to need it." He told her. Reioki smiled and nodded her head.

"Yeah. That would be helpful." She told him as she walked out to the front counter to take an order.

After a few hours later, the lunchtime rush started to slow down and Reioki was able to clean off tables. More than one at a time, she brought the dishes back to the counter by the sink and noticed how they were piling up. She looked over to where Kashu was and found him busy with making dango. So Reioki left the dishes on the sink to wait on more customers. About an hour later, the shop slowed down to where Reioki could go in the back and do those dishes. She washed, dried and put away all of them. By the time she was done, she noticed the time. It was almost time to leave. Kashu looked at her.

"Hey, Reioki. It's almost time for you to go. Thank you for doing the dishes for me. That was a big help." He told her. Reioki tilted her head to the side.

"Not a problem. I am glad to help." She told him as she made herself a cup of tea. "Do you want one?" she asked Kashu as she held up her cup. He looked at it and smiled.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks." he told her. Reioki gave him a big smile and poured him a cup and gave it to him.

"Well, I am going to sit down over there and wait for my friend Takara to show up." he told him. Kashu waved to her as she left the kitchen and went to sit at the table. Not much longer did Takara walk in.

"Uhh, hi!" she said as she walked in. Reioki smiled at her and gave a wave with her hand.

"Hello. How are you today? Did you want some tea?" Reioki asked. Takara sat down at the table Reioki was sitting at.

"Yeah, sure." she answered. Reioki got up and walked back to the kitchen and made a cup of tea for Takara. She brought it out and set it in front of her. Takara looked at her.

"Heh, thanks. So what do you want to do?" Takara asked. Reioki got this mischievous look on her face.

"Well, how do you feel about exploring a place that nobody goes because an entire clan was killed there?" she asked in a low voice. Takara got this mischievous grin on her face.

"Ohhh. Sound like fun. Lets go." She said with a smile. Reioki smiled and they left the teashop after they were done with their tea to go to the Uchiha village.

As Takara and Reioki walked, Takara looked at Reioki suspiciously.

"Sooo... What is the info on this place we are going to explore?" she asked. Reioki looked at her with a small smile.

"Well, I heard that the entire Uchiha clan was killed by one of their own there. There was one survivor and, I heard it was his older brother who did the killings." She told her. Takara's eyes widened a bit and then looked at Reioki.

"That sounds creepy. Let's check it out." She said with a bit of excitement in her voice.

As they approached the village, Reioki felt a bit saddened by the thought of this being Itachi that did this, but she wanted to see where this all took place and maybe find some clue to why he would do something so awful. Takara noticed this, but kept her curiosity to herself, for now.

They entered the village and, started to look around. It looked old and deserted. You could tell that something had happened here. Some store shelves were broken, windows broken and weapon holes in some of the buildings still remained.

"Wow! You can tell something bad happened here." Takara said as she looked around. Reioki nodded her head in agreement. She was speechless at what she was seeing. You could see the faint remains of what looked like blood on some things. They walked down the street further as they looked. Takara walked over to a building and touched it. Reioki walked to the other side of the street and walked over to what looked like a bread stand. Then she looked up at the sign and read it. Uchiha Senbei. _Hmm. Sounds good. Heh, not from here though_. She thought as she touched the shelves. Reioki felt sad as she looked around. She walked over to where Takara was.

"What do you think?" she asked. Takara looked at her.

"This is creepy. You can almost feel the ghosts of this place." She said. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yeah. That is just what I was thinking." she told her as she looked around. Takara grabbed her arm.

"Come on. Let's go check out this way." She said as she pulled on her arm. Reioki followed as they turned the corner and walked down a cobble stone street. It looked more like homes than the market area. There were uchiha crests on every panel of the wall as they walked down the street.

"This must be where they lived." Reioki commented. Takara nodded her head.

"Yep. That's what I'm thinking." she said as she walked over to one of the entrances of a home.

"Let's go in this one." Said Takara with a smirk on her face. Reioki looked at her and gave a little laugh.

"Ok." She said as they walked into the home. They walked together and stayed together as they looked around.

"Hey, Takara. Look at this." Reioki pointed to something on the ground. Takara looked at what Reioki was pointing at as Reioki bent down to pick it up. She held it up for them to look at it.

"It is a family photo. They look so happy. There is a little girl about 5 or 6 here with her parents." Reioki said out loud. Takara looked at the photo.

"Yep. That's what it looks like. At least they were happy." Takara replied. Reioki set the photo on a small shelf that was on the wall as they continued to look threw the house. They walked threw room after room just looking at everything. Takara picked up a wall scroll that was lying on the floor.

"This is pretty." She said as she showed Reioki. Reioki looked at what she was holding up.

"Yeah, it is... Everything is so baron." She said. Takara just looked at her with an odd expression on her face.

"Uhh, yeeeaah. Everybody's dead that lived here. And from the looks of it, for a while now. Look at all the dust." she said as she put down the scroll. Reioki looked to the ground.

"Yeah. I know. It was just a comment." She said with sadness. Takara got pink in the face as she looked at her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." she said. Reioki looked at her and gave her a small smile.

"Oh. It is not you. Sorry. I did not mean to give you that impression. It is just sad that the entire clan was wiped out." She told her. Takara walked over to her.

"Yeah. That is sad. I don't know what kind of monster would do such a thing." She said. Reioki looked away.

"He was not a monster." She said with sadness in her voice. Takara's eyes widened with this comment.

"Reioki? Why are we really here?" she asked. Reioki shook her head as she started to walk out of the room. Takara grabbed her arm, as she turned pink in the face. Reioki looked at her as she stopped.

"This stays between you and me. Ok?" she said to her. Takara nodded her head.

"Of course it will." she replied. Reioki looked over towards the window in the room and then back to Takara.

"Well, I knew the man who did this. He was my guard when I was 15 in the rain village. I did not know about any of this until I got here." She sighed. "He was kind and caring and did not seem to be the kind of person to do such a thing." She told her. Takara looked concerned.

"Wow. Umm, that is sad. Sooo... do you know where this guy lived?" she said turning pink again. Reioki looked at her and shook her head.

"No. I do not know really anything about his past life except from what I learned from being here in Konoha. It took me by surprise to find out that it was him that did this. It just makes me wonder why." She said as she started to walk out of the room. Takara followed her as they left to go into another room.

"What's this guy's name?" she asked as they walked into another room. Reioki bent down and picked up a small piece of paper.

"Uchiha, Itachi." she said. Takara looked at the piece of paper she picked up.

"It's blank. ...And he was your guard when you were 15? Why did you need a guard? If you don't mind me asking." She asked. Reioki dropped the piece of paper back to the floor.

"Well, in my village, there is a civil war going on and, my father is the one opposing the other side trying to establish some kind of freedom and peace for the village. Sooo, in order for me to go out and have some kind of life, I needed a guard to keep me safe." she told her. Takara smiled.

"Ahh. I see. Now I can understand how you would be living in a bubble there." She said. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yup. I had fun when he was around. I got to do things I never got to do before. I mean, I got to go out with my mother on missions, but that is different. I got to see the village with Itachi and, I saw and talked to people and did what other kids my age did. Well, kind of anyway. I got to meet my friend Inushu and her friends once in a while and talk with them, and hang out with them at the dango shop, but not everyday. It was probably once a month. But at least I got to experience it." She said. Takara gave a small smile.

"That is really a sheltered life. That must have been boring." She said walking to another room. Reioki followed her.

"Yeah, and no. When I was younger, it was not such a big deal. I would see Inushu at the hospital, and I could play with her there, and I had Konan, Nana and Chef to talk to, and there were always my parents. But.. When my mother died, things changed. I did not get to see Inushu anymore because I did not really go to the hospital anymore, and my father became distant. All I had was Chef and Nana to talk to, and Konan. I saw Konan more than I saw my own father." Reioki sighed, and then continued talking while they walked through the house.

"There was this one apprentice of Chefs that he was teaching how to cook. His name was Mitsuwa. He was about my age. He was 16. Anyway, I got to talk to talking with him, and we became really good friends for a little while, but he wanted more from me than I would give, so it ended. Then he disappeared. I never saw him again. I was 14 then." She told her as she started to walk to the front door. Takara followed her as she spoke.

"Well, that house was interesting. So, why didn't Inushu ever come over to your house? Reioki stopped in the middle of the street and looked at her.

"Nobody was allowed over to our house. It was forbidden. Nana and Chef were the only people allowed in the house besides Konan. But that is because she lived with us. Mitsuwa was only allowed in the kitchen and, he was never to leave the kitchen. I do not know. It was some strange rule my father had placed on us. My mother said it was for our protection, and that it must be this way. My mother use to take me over to Inushu's house once in a while, but that was very rare." She explained.

Reioki and Takara started to walk down the street again, and followed the cobble stone street for a little while.

"Wow. I am glad I never had to live like that. Though, I do know what it is like in a way. I have this friend that lived kinda like that. He only had his brother and sister to hang out with. And me of course." She told her. Reioki looked at her with curiosity.

"Really? Was he in danger or something to live like that?" she asked. Takara looked at her with one eyebrow up.

"Well, I guess you could say that people were afraid of him. He is a little different from other people. I met him when a bunch of school kids were kicking a ball around, and it got away from them. He went and got it for them, but everyone just ran from him and wouldn't take the ball back. He was so hurt. So I went over to him and talked to him to make him feel better." She said with a big smile on her face. Reioki smiled back.

"Your such a good person. I am glad I met you." She told her. Takara smiled back.

"Yeah. You too. Hey! Let's go back this way." She said as she pointed towards the way they came from. Reioki nodded her head.

"Ok, but we just came from that way." She answered. Takara smiled.

"I know, but there was another street we could of gone down. Let's check it out." She answered. Reioki smiled.

"Ok." she said as they walked back the way they came.

When they came to the street Takara was talking about, they turned down it and walked a ways down. It almost looked the same as the other street, but the wall with the Uchiha crest was on the other side of them.

"They sure were proud of their clan. They have their crest all over the place." Takara said. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yeah. I was just noticing that myself. Itachi really never spoke of his clan. My father introduced us and that is how I know his last name. Other than that, he barley brought up his past. A few thing popped out, but nothing with details." She told her. Takara looked suspiciously at her again. The street curved around and they found themselves on the other side of the village shops.

"Whoa! Takara! Look at that?" Reioki said pointing to a clearing with steps going down to a large pond with woods surrounding it. Takara looked and smiled.

"Wow. That's pretty. Lets go down there!" she said. Reioki and Takara walked down the steps to the pond. At the bottom of the steps, there was a grassy area before they got to the pond. There was a long dock that went out into the pond. Reioki and Takara walked over to the dock and walked to the end of it.

"What a beautiful sight." said Reioki as she looked out over the pond. Takara nodded her head.

"Yeah. It sure is." she agreed. Reioki sat down at the end and dangled her feet over the edge of the dock. _This is where he lived. It is so beautiful. Why Itachi? What was your reason for killing your clan? I just do not get it."_ She thought to herself. Takara looked down at Reioki.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Reioki looked up at her.

"What makes you think something is wrong?" She asked. Takara sat down next to her and dangled her feet over the edge of the dock as well.

"Well, You got this really sad look on your face when you sat down. That's what tells me that something is bothering you." She said with her face turning a little pink. She gave Reioki a little smile. Reioki gave a little smile back and looked over the pond again.

"I was just thinking about Itachi." She told her. Takara looked over the water.

"You loved him. Didn't you?" she asked. Reioki continued to look over the water.

"Yes... Yes I did, and still do. He was my boyfriend for a while." She told her. Takara gave a small smile.

"I thought so. It was just the way you acted to some of your answers that made me think that way." She told her. Reioki looked at her with a tear running down her face.

"Takara. He was so good to me. He protected me, respected me and was so loving towards me. I am having a hard time with all this. That he would do this. That is not the man I know." she told her. Takara turned a little pink in the face and then looked out over the water again.

"Well, if he was so good to you, then why did he leave you?" She asked. Reioki looked to the water and remembered the conversation she had with Itachi as he was leaving her. She gave a big sigh.

"We were standing in the catacombs in my village by the lake. He looked at me and told me that he was leaving for good. I asked him why and he told me that if he stayed, he would end up hurting me more that he is now. He told me that it was over and not to come looking for him. I needed to forget about him. That he would only hurt me. I remember the hurt feelings welling up inside of me and the tears fell down my face. He started to turn away, but I grabbed his arm to stop him. He turned slightly to look at me and told me to let him go. I asked him how he would hurt me? I also asked if there was anything I could do to keep us together. He turned away and said no. That there was nothing I could do, but to forget about him. That this was for the best. He also said that just being with him would end up hurting me, that our paths have crossed and now they must part for they now lead in different directions. I let his arm go and watched him walk away from me. I have not seen him since." She told her. Takara looked down to the water.

"I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have asked you that." She said. Reioki just gave her a small smile as she looked at Takara threw the reflection in the water.

"Na. Do not worry about it. I am just grateful I have someone I can talk to about it." She told her. Takara put her arm around her and gave her a little hug.

"Ya know, something is bothering me. I wonder what he meant by just being with you he would hurt you?" she asked as she brought her hand down. Reioki nodded her head.

"Well, I am not sure about that. That was the vague explanation he gave me. There was something I know he was keeping from me, but I cannot tell you what that could possibly be. She told her. Takara nodded her head.

"Ahh, I see. I'm sorry you had to go threw that. And then to find out that he did this, this has got to be hard on you. Maybe this is what he was keeping secret from you." She told her. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yeah. But I have the feeling it was more that just this. Anyway, I keep trying to forget about him, but something always comes up to remind me of him. So, I decided to come here and look around in the place where he grew up and to try and maybe understand what happened. I obviously can not stop thinking about him, so I thought I would just go with the flow of things." She explained. Takara and Reioki sat there in silence for a few minutes. Then they heard a voice coming from behind them.

"What are you two doing here?" said a young mans voice. Takara and Reioki turned their heads around to see whom was talking. Reioki's eyes became wide when she saw the young man. He was about 12 years of age with black hair that spiked up in the back. Takara noticed Reioki's face, but didn't say anything to her.

"What's it to you?" asked Takara. The young man turned his head slightly.

"Do you know where you are?" he asked. Takara looked at him with a smirk.

"Yeah. We are sitting by a pond." She told him sarcastically. The young man shook his head slightly.

"Why does this bother you so much that we are here?" asked Reioki. The young man glared at her.

"Are you two new around here?" He asked. Reioki stood up and looked at him. Takara did the same. Reioki looked at Takara and then back to the young man.

"Wow. I guess we are that obvious about being new here. We get that question a lot." She said with a little laugh.

"So, Yes. We are... What is your name?" Reioki asked. The young man looked at them both.

"It's polite to introduce yourselves first before asking someone their name." he told her. Reioki looked at him and then gave him a small smile.

"Your right. Forgive me. My name is Rikudo, Reioki and this is my friend Yoshida, Takara. Pleased to meet you." she told him. The young man smirked at them.

"Uchiha, Sasuke. And this place your at, was my clans village." he told them. They both looked at each other and then back to Sasuke.

"So... You live here?" Takara asked. Sasuke looked at her.

"Not any more. I live in the main village now." he answered. Takara looked at him and smiled.

"Well, this is such a beautiful village, would you like to show us where you use to live?" Sasuke looked at her with a glare.

"No! I wouldn't. If you want to know where I live, look for the broken Uchiha crest. That is where you will find where my family lived before they were all killed off." He told them angrily. The girls looked at each other with raised eyebrows and then back to him.

"Before they were killed off?" asked Reioki with the same raised eyebrows look. Sasuke got this angry look on his face.

"You two really are new here. Find someone else to answer your questions. I'm out of here." He said as he turned around and walked back up the stairs. Takara looked at Reioki with a smile.

"Mr. grumpy pants." she said with a little laugh. Reioki let out a small laugh, but then became saddened as she watched Sasuke disappear over the stairs.

"So... He must look like his brother." Takara said to her. Reioki nodded her head.

"Yeah. I can see the family resemblance... Heh, that was really weird." she said to Takara as she started to walk towards the grass. Takara followed.

"What was that saying you live by? Everything happens for a reason?" Takara asked. Reioki smiled and nodded her head.

"Heh, yeah. That would be the one." She said as they walked up the steps. Takara looked at her when they got to the top of the steps.

"So... are we going to find the broken crest?" she asked with a mischievous look. Reioki smirked.

"Oh yeah. I am curious now." She answered. Takara smirked as well as they walked back towards the houses.

"I wonder what we will find there?" Takara asked. Reioki looked puzzled.

"Hmmm, maybe nothing. But at least I will have an insight of where he lived." she said as they walked down the street.

"I wonder what the broken crest looks like?" said Takara. Reioki looked at her.

"Yeah. I was wondering the same thing. Or maybe he was just saying that thinking that we would go looking for it and lead us on a wild goose chase." she answered. Takara gave a little laugh.

Heh, maybe. But we will never know unless we look. Besides, what else are we going to do?" she said with a smile and squinted eyes! Reioki laughed at this.

"Yeah. It just gives us an excuse to look around the village some more." She said as they continued to walk down the street.

As the girls walked, they kept looking at the homes and were on the look out for this broken crest wondering what it could be. They walked for about 10 minutes before Reioki noticed something.

"Umm, Takara? Maybe we were looking on the wrong side of the street. Look!" she said as they stopped in front of a wall. There they looked at the uchiha emblem on the wall with a hole in it and cracks as if someone had thrown something at it. Takara looked at it and then looked at Reioki. Then they both looked behind them at the house.

"What do you think?" asked Takara. Reioki nodded her head and started to walk towards the house. Takara followed. They went in and looked around.

"Let us go this way." Reioki said as she pointed to the left. Takara nodded her head as they walked and found them selves in the kitchen.

"Hmmm. A kitchen. Lets see what else there is." said Takara as they walked out and went into another room. As they entered, they found a room that had shelves on the walls with some books still on them. Reioki went and pulled a book off the shelf. The dust was so thick that it made Reioki sneeze. *ahh choo* She looked at it and read the title, Konoha laws. Reioki put it back on the shelf and was going to pull off another one, when she heard Takara say something.

"Hey. Reioki! Jack pot!" Takara said as she held something in her hand. Reioki walked over to her and looked. Reioki made a little gasp.

" Huuh, Oh my! That is a picture of his family!" she said with wide eyes. Takara smiled.

"Hmmm. Well, I have to say. Itachi is better looking than his brother." She said with a small laugh. Reioki just stared at the picture in Takara's hands.

"Can I have that?" asked Reioki. Takara glanced at her thru the corner of her eye at Reioki.

"Hmmm. I don't know... Ha! Just kidding. Of course you can." she said as she handed her the picture. Reioki looked at her and smiled.

"Thank you!" she told her. Takara looked at her.

"No problem. Let's see what else we find." she said as she grabbed Reioki's arm and pulled her out of the room. They went into a few other rooms, but found nothing of interest. They found themselves in the front entrance again and looked out the door.

"Well, Now what?" asked Reioki. Takara looked to the sky.

"Well, I would say that it is almost dinner time. Maybe we should go." She said. Reioki nodded her head as they walked out to the street.

"Yeah. I am pretty hungry." she replied.

Reioki and Takara walked out of the Uchiha village and went and found something to eat. After they were done eating, they decided to call it a night and went home. Reioki had a smile on her face as she looked at the picture they found. She put the picture on her desk that was in her room before she went to sleep.


End file.
